WALES

Civil Servants

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many civil servants have been employed in the Wales Office in each year since 1999 in (a) London and (b) Cardiff.

Don Touhig: The actual number of civil servants in the Wales Office and the split between London and Cardiff could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The table as follows shows the staffing complement in each year, since the Wales Office came into being on 1 July 1999. This differs from the outturn figures given in the Wales Office annual Departmental Reports as it takes no account of vacancies during the year.
	
		
			  Staff complement in London (full time equivalents) Staff complement in Cardiff (full time equivalents) 
		
		
			 1999–2000 33 3 
			 2000–01 35 9 
			 2001–02 35 9 
			 2002–03 43 12 
			 2003–04 44 11

Wind Farms

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the (a) environmental and (b) health impact of wind farms in Wales.

Don Touhig: Proposals for the development of wind farms in Wales are assessed for visual and other impacts as part of the planning process.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Children in Care

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children are in residential care in each local authority area; and how many receive residential care in each local authority.

Margaret Hodge: The number of children in residential care in each local authority at 31 March 2002 is shown in the following table.
	
		Children Looked After at 31March 2002 in residential care(1) , (2)
		
			 Local authority Children Looked Afterin residential care at 31 March 2002(2) , (3) 
		
		
			 England 8,600 
			   
			 North East  
			 Shire counties  
			 Durham 65 
			 Northumberland 40 
			   
			 Unitary authorities  
			 Darlington 20 
			 Hartlepool 10 
			 Middlesbrough 25 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 15 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 35 
			   
			 Metropolitan districts  
			 Gateshead 35 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 55 
			 North Tyneside 45 
			 South Tyneside 35 
			 Sunderland 80 
			   
			 North West  
			 Shire counties  
			 Cheshire 45 
			 Cumbria 40 
			 Lancashire 245 
			   
			 Unitary authorities  
			 Blackburn and Darwen 50 
			 Blackpool 30 
			 Halton 15 
			 Warrington 20 
			   
			 Metropolitan districts  
			 Bolton 40 
			 Bury 20 
			 Manchester 150 
			 Oldham 45 
			 Rochdale 30 
			 Salford 110 
			 Stockport 55 
			 Tameside 25 
			 Trafford 45 
			 Wigan 55 
			   
			 Merseyside  
			 Metropolitan districts  
			 Knowsley 30 
			 Liverpool 175 
			 Sefton 85 
			 St. Helens 55 
			 Wirral 75 
			   
			 Yorkshire and Humberside  
			 Shire counties  
			 North Yorkshire 40 
			   
			 Unitary authorities  
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 30 
			 Kingston upon Hull 90 
			 North East Lincolnshire 25 
			 North Lincolnshire 30 
			 York 20 
			   
			 Metropolitan districts  
			 Barnsley 55 
			 Bradford 100 
			 Calderdale 30 
			 Doncaster 55 
			 Kirklees 50 
			 Leeds 170 
			 Rotherham 45 
			 Sheffield 95 
			 Wakefield 50 
			 East Midlands  
			 Shire counties  
			 Derbyshire 75 
			 Leicestershire 35 
			 Lincolnshire 55 
			 Northamptonshire 95 
			 Nottinghamshire 45 
			   
			 Unitary authorities  
			 Derby 45 
			 Leicester 50 
			 Nottingham 75 
			 Rutland — 
			   
			 West Midlands  
			 Shire counties  
			 Shropshire 30 
			 Staffordshire 70 
			 Warwickshire 35 
			 Worcestershire 55 
			   
			 Unitary authorities  
			 Herefordshire 15 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 55 
			 Telford and Wrekin 35 
			   
			 Metropolitan districts  
			 Birmingham 305 
			 Coventry 55 
			 Dudley 45 
			 Sandwell 50 
			 Solihull 30 
			 Walsall 65 
			 Wolverhampton 35 
			   
			 South West  
			 Shire counties  
			 Cornwall 70 
			 Devon 70 
			 Dorset 25 
			 Gloucestershire 60 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 
			 Somerset 65 
			 Wiltshire 40 
			   
			 Unitary authorities  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 15 
			 Bournemouth 35 
			 Bristol 70 
			 North Somerset 15 
			 Plymouth 40 
			 Poole 15 
			 South Gloucestershire 20 
			 Swindon 25 
			 Torbay 30 
			   
			 Eastern  
			 Shire counties  
			 Bedfordshire 70 
			 Cambridgeshire 55 
			 Essex 175 
			 Hertfordshire 115 
			 Norfolk 145 
			 Suffolk 100 
			   
			 Unitary authorities  
			 Luton 25 
			 Peterborough 35 
			 Southend 25 
			 Thurrock 25 
			 London  
			 Inner London  
			 Camden 65 
			 City of London 0 
			 Greenwich 95 
			 Hackney 70 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 55 
			 Islington 125 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 45 
			 Lambeth 185 
			 Lewisham 125 
			 Southwark 90 
			 Tower Hamlets 80 
			 Wandsworth 45 
			 Westminster 35 
			   
			 Outer London  
			 Barking and Dagenham 115 
			 Barnet 50 
			 Bexley 10 
			 Brent 75 
			 Bromley 70 
			 Croydon 70 
			 Baling 70 
			 Enfield 65 
			 Haringey 155 
			 Harrow 25 
			 Havering 35 
			 Hillingdon 70 
			 Hounslow 50 
			 Kingston Upon Thames 25 
			 Merton 20 
			 Newham 65 
			 Redbridge 30 
			 Richmond upon Thames 40 
			 Sutton 15 
			 Waltham Forest 100 
			   
			 South East  
			 Shire counties  
			 Buckinghamshire 35 
			 East Sussex 40 
			 Hampshire 120 
			 Kent 125 
			 Oxfordshire 80 
			 Surrey 130 
			 West Sussex 115 
			   
			 Unitary authorities  
			 Bracknell Forest 20 
			 Brighton and Hove 25 
			 Isle of Wight 15 
			 Medway Towns 30 
			 Milton Keynes 40 
			 West Berkshire 20 
			 Portsmouth 35 
			 Reading 25 
			 Slough 20 
			 Southampton 20 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 15 
			 Wokingham 10 
		
	
	(1) Residential care includes secure units, homes and hostels, residential schools, and other residential settings.
	(2) Figures in this table exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements.
	(3) Figures over 1,000 are rounded to the nearest 100. Figures between one and five have been suppressed. All other figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	Source:
	Children Looked After by local authorities, year ending 31 March 2002.

Adult Learning

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people are claiming Adult Learning Grants in pilot areas; and what estimate he has made of the number of people eligible to claim Adult Learning Grants in pilot areas.

Ivan Lewis: Over 1,900 people have successfully applied for the Adult Learning Grant and more applications are being approved every week. The latest estimate is that some 5,700 adults may be eligible for the grant in the pilot areas.

Arson

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total cost of arson damage to schools was in each of the last 15 years.

David Miliband: Because the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has overall policy lead for fire safety and arson reduction among government departments, it is ODPM rather than this Department that compiles statistics on fires in schools.
	The latest figures we have from ODPM cover the years 1997–2001. They show that, on average, the annual economic costs of arson damage to schools amounted to £42 million. The numbers of school fires started deliberately did not increase steadily over that period, but fluctuated around the average of 972 per year.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of buildings occupied by (a) staff of his Department and (b) staff of the Department's executive agencies have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to the implementation of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.

Stephen Twigg: All of the Department for Education and Skills buildings were surveyed prior to the introduction of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. The surveys complied with the requirements of the regulations current at that time.

Bullying

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many incidences of bullying in schools were recorded in Devon in the last seven years.

Ivan Lewis: Data on bullying is not collected centrally and there is no reliable basis for an estimate of prevalence. However, any level of bullying is too high and we are determined to help schools to tackle the problem. Our guidance pack 'Bullying: Don't Suffer in Silence' and the anti-bullying website www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying offer detailed advice on preventing and addressing bullying. We have also recently launched our anti-bullying Charter which I hope schools will sign and use. It is accompanied by a summary of effective practice to help schools review and enhance their anti-bullying policies. We are also currently running a series of England-wide regional anti-bullying conferences for schools and other partners to share good practice.

Children's Homes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) private and (b) public sector children's homes there are in each local authority area.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested is not available as it is not collected by Local Authority area. The National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) collects information on an Area and Regional basis. Details of numbers of children's homes at 27 February 2004, by type of provider and NCSC Region are set out in the following table:
	
		Number of Children's homes by provider type across NCSC Regions at 27February 2004
		
			 NCSC Region Independent Local Authority Voluntary NHS Providers Total 
		
		
			 England  
			 North East 32 70 2 2 106 
			 East Midlands 64 46 6 0 116 
			 South West 160 49 19 1 229 
			 West Midlands 160 46 11 0 217 
			 North West 223 119 34 0 376 
			 London 121 50 23 2 196 
			 South East 153 46 16 1 216 
			 Eastern 64 33 8 0 105 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 50 95 8 0 153 
			 Total 1,027 554 127 6 1,714 
		
	
	Source:
	NCSC

Children's Homes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many privately run children's homes are registered.

Margaret Hodge: 1,027 private children's homes were registered with the National Care Standards Commission at 27 February 2004.

Citizenship Curriculum

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to increase time spent on learning about court processes in secondary schools.

Stephen Twigg: Understanding the role and operation of the criminal and civil justice system in our democracy is an important part of citizenship education, which became part of the curriculum for 11 to 16-year-olds in September 2002. Pupils learn about the work of the courts, parliament and the government in making and shaping the law. It is up to schools to arrange the allocation of time for subjects and specific elements within them. The QCA has sent detailed guidance on citizenship to all schools, which includes specific units on how to plan and cover the justice system.

Computer Misuse

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cases of computer misuse there were in his Department in (a) 1997 and (b) 2003, broken down by category of misuse; and how many of those cases resulted in disciplinary action.

Charles Clarke: The Department for Education and Skills allows personal use of the internet and email outside normal hours. Staff are warned that internet accesses may be monitored and misuse may lead to disciplinary action. Staff are reminded of the policy each time they log on to the Department's network and must accept the policy before log in can be completed.
	The numbers of cases of computer misuse within the Department for Education and Skills is as follows:
	
		
			  Number of cases Type of misuse Action 
		
		
			 1997 0 n/a n/a 
			 2003 2 Serious inappropriateinternet use Disciplinary 
		
	
	Access to the internet for DfES staff was introduced in November 1997 and was approved only to those who had a business need. Usage was low and no instances of misuse occurred.

Departmental Buildings

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) renovation and (b) maintenance projects on buildings (i) owned and (ii) rented by his Department were undertaken in each of the last five years; and what the associated costs were of each.

Stephen Twigg: My Department's renovation costs include projects where the primary aim is refurbishment and upgrading, while maintenance costs include projects where the primary aim is repair and/or replacement of existing equipment/installations.
	The project cost of the (a) renovation and (b) maintenance work carried out in each of the last five years is as follows:
	
		£
		
			 Financial Leasehold Freehold 
			 year Renovation Maintenance Renovation Maintenance 
		
		
			 2003–04 3,231,704 478,398 1,564,000 433,085 
			 2002–03 2,811,781 1,283,864 1,982,775 380,070 
			 2001–02 2,445,073 1,432,309 1,967,745 479,095 
			 2000–01 2,993,645 800,959 2,164,164 1,244,123 
			 1999–2000 3,099,315 883,208 1,633,944 1,200,535 
			 Total 14,581,518 4,878,738 9,312,628 3,736,908

Devon LEA

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils achieved at least (a) one and (b) five GCSE grades A* to C in Devon Local Education Authority in each of the last seven years.

David Miliband: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		Percentage of 15-year-old pupils(4) in Devon Local Education Authority -- Percentage
		
			 Academic year Achieved at least one A*-C Achieved at least5 A*-C 
		
		
			 1997(5) 71.4 44.0 
			 1998 75.6 47.0 
			 1999 75.1 48.4 
			 2000 76.3 49.1 
			 2001 77.0 51.3 
			 2002 74.8 50.4 
			 2003 76.2 52.6 
		
	
	(4) Pupils are aged 15 at the start of the academic year i.e. 31 August.
	(5) Results for 1997 are not directly comparable to 1998–2003 results, due to the re-organisation of Devon LEA that took place in 1998.

Education (North Tyneside)

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the level of capital investment in schools in North Tyneside was in each of the last seven years.

David Miliband: The following table shows capital funding allocated to North Tyneside local education authority (LEA) and its schools since 1997. The majority of capital funding is now allocated by formulae, linked to Asset Management Plans. All schools have, since 2000–01, received Devolved Formula capital to use on their most urgent capital needs.
	
		Capital allocations to North Tyneside LEA
		
			  Allocations (£000) 
		
		
			 1997–98 2,521 
			 1998–99 2,448 
			 1999–2000 10,255 
			 2000–01 19,766 
			 2001–02 22,449 
			 2002–03 (6)45,512 
			 2003–04 11,528 
		
	
	(6) This includes £33.5 million PFI credits.
	Note:
	The calculation includes the Voluntary Aided sector. Funding from 2000- 01 to 2002 03 included high levels of Basic Need and also additional exceptional funding.

Employment Agencies

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the employment agencies which his Department and its predecessors have used to supply temporary staff in each financial year since 1996–97 to the most recent date for which figures are available.

Charles Clarke: The following table lists all the employment agencies used by the Department for Education and Employment and Department for Education and Skills from 1996–97 to date:
	
		
			  Employment agency 
		
		
			 1996–97 Adecco  
			  Brook Street 
			   
			 1997–98 Adecco  
			  Brook Street 
			   
			 1998–99 Adecco  
			  Brook Street 
			   
			 1999–2000 Adecco  
			  Brook Street 
			   
			 2000–01 Adecco 
			  Brook Street  
			  Manpower 
			   
			 2001–02 Adecco 
			  Brook Street 
			  Manpower 
			   
			 2002–03 Adecco 
			  Brook Street 
			  Manpower 
			   
			 2003–04 Adecco 
			  Brook Street 
			  Manpower

Free School Meals

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of free school meals was per child, broken down by local education authority, in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

David Miliband: This information is not collected centrally.

Gap Year

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will commission research into the number of post-A level students who take a gap year before entering university over the next three years in order to help evaluate the impact of changes in higher education student fees and indebtedness.

Ivan Lewis: The Government will continue to monitor the number of students accepted to university with deferred entry, as made available by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
	In addition information will be available through the independent commission established to consider all aspects of the new arrangements based on the first three years of variable fees. The Terms of Reference of this commission were announced by the Secretary of State on 26 January 2004.

Gap Year

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what (a) proportion and (b) number of post-A level students took a gap year before entering university in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The available information comes from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and covers deferred entry for 18-year-old, full-time, accepted applicants to first degree and HMD study in the UK. Figures are in the following table.
	
		UK domiciled 18-year-old applicants, accepted through UCAS with deferred entry
		
			 Year ofapplication Total accepted applicants Total accepted on deferred basis Percentage deferred 
		
		
			 1998/99 148,301 14,261 9.6 
			 1999/00 146,670 14,975 10.2 
			 2000/01 147,986 16,007 10.8 
			 2001/02 156,790 18,840 12.0 
			 2002/03 161,032 19,600 12.2 
		
	
	Source:
	UCAS.
	This information excludes students who defer making their application to UCAS until they are already taking a gap year.

Healthy Eating

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what meetings he has had with the (a) retail and (b) food and drink industry to discuss healthy eating in schools.

Stephen Twigg: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has had several meetings with the retail and food industries to discuss healthy eating in schools.

Individual Learning Accounts

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to compensate companies forced to close due to the termination of individual learning accounts.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has no plans to compensate learning providers in relation to their participation in the individual learning accounts (ILA) programme following the closure of the programme on 23 November 2001. The extent to which organisations made business decisions around ILA participation is something each organisation determined for itself.

Isle of Wight Youth Trust

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what grants he has paid to the Isle of Wight Youth Trust, Wight2BHeard, in each of the last three years; and under what programme.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 22 March 2004
	During the last three years I have made no payments to the Isle of Wight Youth Trust, Wight2BHeard.

Opinion Sampling

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his estimate is of total expenditure by his Department on (a) focus groups and (b) opinion polls in each year from 1995–96 to 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: The Department commissions tightly focused market research to help with the strategic development of publicity campaigns and their evaluation. The expenditure on opinion and market research projects for the years since 1995 is listed in the following table. Information is not held in a form which would allow the projects to be differentiated into the categories requested; some would involve a combination of methodologies.
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			  
			  
			 1995–96 596 
			 1996–97 647 
			 1997–98 863 
			 1998–99 1,409 
			 1999–2000 1,687 
			 2000–01 2,340 
			 2001–02 1,256 
			 2002–03 2,078 
			 2003–04 (to date) 1,564

Overseas Employees

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many nationals of sub-Saharan African countries are employed by (a) state schools, (b) local education authorities and (c) his Department (i) directly and (ii) through private agencies.

David Miliband: Information on the nationality of employees in state schools, local education authorities and this department is not collected centrally.

Overseas Students

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in higher education are from each EU country; what proportion from each country are assisted from public funds to meet the cost of fees or maintenance; and to what extent.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 26 March 2004
	The Government are required under Article 12 of the EC Treaty to treat EU students no less favourably than UK students with regard to tuition fees. EU students make a means-assessed contribution to their tuition fees, with the remainder being made up by the Government (via HEFCE). EU students are not entitled to receive support with maintenance costs.
	Table A shows the number of full-time undergraduate students enrolled in England and Wales in 2002/03 by domicile. The percentages refer to the numbers of students qualifying for assistance with the means-assessed element of the tuition fees.
	The percentage number of EU students qualifying for assistance is lower than the percentage of UK full-time undergraduate students enrolled in England and Wales in academic year 2001/02 who are receiving full or partial support with their tuition fees, as Table B shows.
	
		Table A
		
			   Percentage 
			 Domicile Enrolments Full assistance Partial assistance 
		
		
			 Greece 9,304 47 11 
			 France 6,739 22 7 
			 Germany 6,932 15 6 
			 Irish Republic 3,998 36 7 
			 Spain 4,253 27 4 
			 Italy 2,597 32 7 
			 Sweden 2,276 46 11 
			 Finland 1,382 32 11 
			 Belgium 1,291 7 3 
			 Netherlands 1,041 17 6 
			 Portugal 1,103 50 7 
			 Denmark 863 39 8 
			 Austria 697 17 7 
			 Luxembourg 456 3 2 
			 Gibraltar 490 10 4 
			 Total 43,422 32 8 
		
	
	
		Table B -- Percentage
		
			  Full assistance Partial assistance 
		
		
			 UK students 43 16 
			 EU Students 32 8

Parliamentary Questions

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he will answer the Questions tabled by the hon. Member for Torbay on 3 March for answer on 5 March, reference 159415 and 159416.

Margaret Hodge: A reply has been issued today.

School Building

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of whether, in the Building Schools for the Future programme, adequate changing facilities are incorporated in school designs to allow all children to engage in sport on a daily basis to ensure that the Government can at least meet its targets on school sport and physical activity.

David Miliband: The Building Schools for the Future programme aims to rebuild or refurbish all secondary schools to a high standard that will include sports facilities for both pupils and, outside schools hours, the local community to use. Changing and shower facilities remain a requirement of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 for pupils who have attained the age of 11 years, and non-statutory guidance on the area and design of these spaces is included in the 'Area Guidelines for Schools': both current (building Bulletin 82) and revised (from April 2004, Building Bulletin 98: Briefing Guide for Secondary School Projects).

School Finance

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the schools in Carshalton and Wallington which ran a budget deficit in the year ending 31 March 2003; and how much this deficit was for each school.

David Miliband: The information requested is submitted to the Department according to local education authority areas rather than districts within an area. Carshalton and Wallington is a district of Sutton local education authority. The information for Sutton LEA is as follows:
	
		Schools which ran a deficit budget in the year ending 31March 2003 -- £
		
			 School name Deficit budget  
		
		
			 Rushy Meadow Primary School (57,769) 
			 Devonshire Primary School (54,017) 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data are as reported by Sutton LEA as at 26 March 2004 and taken from their 2002–03 Section 52 Outturn Statement submitted to the DfES.
	2. Section 52 is collected at local education authority level not constituency level and there were two schools in Sutton LEA with a deficit budget in 2002–03. Of these, Rushy Meadow Primary School is in Carshalton.
	3. Deficit budget is taken from Table B column 13-other revenue balance. This includes the cumulative balance of income less expenditure from revenue funding sources during the financial year and the balance from previous years.
	4. Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.

School Repairs (Stroud)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  which schools in the Stroud constituency had at least one year when school repair capital spending was greater than £5,000 since 1997;
	(2)  what the total capital spending on school repairs for the Stroud constituency was for each year since 1997.

David Miliband: The Department allocates capital funding to local education authorities (LEAs) and their schools. The majority of this capital support is allocated to schools and LEAs by formula, and they decide how to invest it in line with their asset management plans. The Department does not, therefore, have detailed information about all the capital investment in each school; this should be held locally.
	The following table sets out the total capital support made by this Government to Gloucestershire LEA since 1996–97. This table includes devolved formula capital grants to schools and capital support for the voluntary aided sector.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			  
			  
			  Gloucestershire LEA capital allocations 
			 1996–97 12.229 
			 1997–98 7.947 
			 1998–99 6.269 
			 1999–2000 12.356 
			 2000–01 24.862 
			 2001–02 21.065 
			 2002–03 22.917 
			 2003–04 28.486 
		
	
	We have also already allocated indicative funding for future years worth approximately £34.6 million in 2004–05 and £20.1 million in 2005–06.

Websites

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total annual cost of his Department's websites, including those of its agencies, was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stephen Twigg: The information is as follows:
	DfES—2003–04:
	
		
			 2003–04 £ 
		
		
			 Central website(7) 1,900,000 
			 Customer facing portals(8) 978,000 
			 Curriculum online(9) 2,394,598 
		
	
	(7) www.dfes.gov.uk
	(8) 6 sites
	(9) www.curriculumonline.gov.uk
	Agencies—latest figures available:
	
		
			 Agency Total spent (£) 
		
		
			 Investors in People UK 160,000 
			 QCA 380,000 
			 CITB 315,000 
			 ECITB 22,000 
			 Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) 112,585 
			 Adult Learning Inspectorate 38,489 
			 TTA 517,000 
			 BECTA 1,267,100 
			 NGfL 1,111,500 
			 NCSL 673,000 
			 HEFCE 67,000

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

CAP

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to commence negotiations to withdraw the UK from the Common Agricultural Policy.

Alun Michael: No. The Common Agricultural Policy is an integral part of the European Union's internal market. It would be bizarre to consider withdrawal at the point when we are achieving the reforms for which the UK has long argued. The changes will deliver a more rational CAP and we played a leading role in securing radical reforms last June. The reforms reflect our own goals for sustainable farming and will deliver better value for money to taxpayers and consumers, provide opportunities to boost farm incomes, bring benefits to the wider rural community, reduce damage to the environment and improve animal welfare.
	As a result the reforms will bring benefits across the EU and to agricultural trade and development worldwide. The UK played a leading role in securing these reforms and we will continue to work within the EU for a more sustainable CAP.

CAP

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what help will be given to Exmoor farmers as a result of the mid-term Common Agricultural Policy reform.

Alun Michael: Exmoor farmers, like all others, will benefit from decoupling of subsidies from production.
	Some representations have been made to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State that the division of England into two regions; severely Disadvantaged Areas and land outside the SDA, might disadvantage some who farm within the SDA. As a result she has expressed her willingness to consider a small modification to the scheme to create a further region of moorland within the SDA if a case can be made that commands a broad consensus.

British Cattle Movement Service

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what role the British Cattle Movement Service plays in the tracing of stolen cattle.

Alun Michael: The British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) acts as the Department's main contact with keepers and police forces in tracing stolen cattle.
	The BCMS provides evidence from the Cattle Tracing Scheme database to help the police establish the true ownership of animals in disputed cases.
	The BCMS also acts for keepers directly by marking animals reported to have been stolen and informing the local police force when any further notifications are made to them about these animals.
	The BCMS works closely with agricultural departments' inspectors, the police and local trading standards officers to ensure that the theft, movement and disposal of stolen animals is made as difficult as possible.

Department-sponsored Bodies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) resource budget, (b) administration costs and (c) staff numbers were for 2003 of the (i) Agricultural Wages Committees for England, (ii) Home Grown Cereals Authority, (iii) Horticultural Development Council, (iv) Horticultural Research International, (v) Milk Development Council, (vi) United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards, (vii) Wine Standards Board, (viii) Committee of Investigation for Great Britain, (ix) Committee on Agricultural Valuation, (x) Committee on Products and Processes for Use in Public Water Supply, (xi) Consumers' Committee for Great Britain under the Agriculture Marketing Act 1958, (xii) Hill Farming Advisory Committee for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, (xiii) Pesticide Residues Committee, (xiv) Water Regulations Advisory Committee, (xv) Zoos Forum, (xvi) Veterinary Laboratories Agency and (xvii) Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

Alun Michael: This information could not be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.

Departmental Costs

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what has been the total wage bill for her Department for each year since its inception; and what the projected figures for (a) total wages and (b) total staff numbers are for 2004–05.

Alun Michael: The expenditure and projected expenditure for DEFRA and its agencies is as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 2001–02 333,414 
			 2002–03 380,358 
			 2003–04 393,544 
			 2004–05 387,291 
		
	
	The forecast staff numbers for 2004–05 is 13,106.

Illegal Hare Coursing

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the effect on the rural economy of illegal hare coursing;
	(2)  what plans she has to bring forward legislation to reduce illegal hare coursing.

Alun Michael: Hare coursing as such is not illegal at present. 'Illegal hare coursing' takes place when other offences are associated with the activity, the most common offence being that of trespass. Since it is not a defined activity, separate studies of the economic effect of 'illegal hare coursing' would not be appropriate. Nor is further legislation focused on 'illegal hare coursing' likely to reduce its scale. Enforcement requires effective police intelligence and the active support of people living in affected areas to obtain evidence of offences being committed. However, the Government considers all forms of hare coursing to be undesirable because it involves unnecessary suffering. Last session's Hunting Bill would therefore have made all hare coursing events illegal. Evidence of this offence would be easier to obtain and this would help enforcement.

Land Mapping

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs further to correspondence with the hon. Member for the Vale of York, whether all the mistakes made during the digitalisation of the mapping of land have now been corrected.

Alun Michael: The maps referred to in the correspondence have been edited and are awaiting agreement from the hon. Member's constituent.

Noble House

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what type of energy generation is used for the supply of electricity and heating to Noble House; and whether her Department has experienced problems with this method of energy generation.

Alun Michael: The electricity supply for Nobel House is taken from the National Grid. Defra's contract is for the supply of electricity from 100 per cent. renewable sources.
	Power for heating the building is delivered by standard mains gas.
	Within the last 12 months, apart from some fluctuations in pressure for gas, and one brief failure in the supply for electricity due to external road works, no problems have been reported.

Rural Payments Agency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what Act the Rural Payment Agency is able to (a) demand money back from farmers and (b) deduct money from future payments after resolution of disputes over the slaughter premium scheme.

Alun Michael: A member state is obliged to recover any monies paid if an undue payment is made.
	The basis upon which undue payments are recovered for Integrated Administration and Control System schemes, of which the Slaughter Premium Scheme is one, is Article 49 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2419/2001 laying down the detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92.
	The point raised at (a) is covered under paragraph 1 of this article;
	"If undue payment is made, the farmer shall repay the amount in question plus interest calculated in accordance with the time the undue payment was made and the repayment date and in accordance with the provisions of the national law."
	The point raised at (b) is covered by Article 38 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2419/2001;
	"If the percentage established in accordance with paragraph 3 is more than 50% the farmer shall, moreover, be excluded once again from receiving aid up to an amount equal to that to be refused under the first subparagraph. This amount shall be offset against aid payments under the bovine aid schemes to which the farmer is entitled in the context of application he lodges in the course of the three calendar years following the calendar year of the finding."

Science Strategy

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how her Department's Chief Scientific Adviser has ensured that the Department's scientific activities are well directed, as recommended in paragraph 7.11 of the Government's science strategy, Investing in Innovation, published in July 2002.

Alun Michael: Professor Howard Dalton FRS was appointed as Defra's Chief Scientific Adviser in March 2002. He is a full member of the Departmental Management Board. The Chief Scientific Adviser is responsible to Defra's Management Board and Ministers for the preparation of the Department's Science and Innovation Strategy. This sets out the vision for Defra science, and identifies the science needed to underpin and inform Defra policies across the three areas of environment, food and rural affairs. Defra's first Science and Innovation Strategy was published in May 2003.

CABINET OFFICE

Fisheries

Alex Salmond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report entitled, Net Benefits: a sustainable and profitable future for UK fishing cost to produce.

Douglas Alexander: The Strategy Unit's total budget for this financial year is £4.7 million, which funds a range of projects and other work.
	A total of 12 people worked on the project, and six of these were engaged on a full time basis.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

BACS

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress his Department has made to manage the changeover from the Bank Automated Clearing System to the new BACSTEL-IP system for electronic payments.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has carried out some preliminary research with suppliers and will initiate a project in June to migrate our systems to BACSTEL-IP. It is anticipated that this project will be completed before the end of this year.
	The requirement to comply with BACSTEL-IP has also been incorporated into the specifications for new systems.

Central America

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's aid policies for (a) Belize and (b) Central America.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The information requested is as follows.
	(a) In Belize our focus is on supporting the Government of Belize to meet the benchmarks for qualifying for debt relief under the Commonwealth Debt Initiative. We granted debt relief of £1.548 million for the year July 2002 to 30 June 2003 and reached agreement in principle to the granting of additional debt relief for a further two years from July 2003 to June 2005. Further debt relief is subject to progress on agreed benchmarks in line with the three Commonwealth Debt Initiative criteria of sound economic management, pro-poor policies and accountable and transparent governance. These are the key areas in which we operate a £600,000 strategic fund over the three year period from June 2003 to June 2006.
	The UK supports the OAS-sponsored Confidence Building Measures in Belize and Guatemala through the FCO/DFID/MOD Global Conflict Prevention Pool. £1.5 million has been allocated for financial year 2004–05. Our projects are aimed at reducing tensions, encouraging co-operation between security agencies, Government Ministries and Non Governmental Organisations, and addressing the underlying causes of conflict.
	In addition Belize benefits from DFID's regional programme for the wider Caribbean which focuses on trade, security sector reform, HIV/AIDS, public sector reform and economic and fiscal management.
	(b) We are reviewing our aid policy in relation to Central America. In 2004–05 DFID's Central American programme will be about £5 million of which £3 million will be to support our programme in Nicaragua. The DFID office in Honduras closes in 12 months time and we will withdraw from specific in-country activities in support of the Honduran Poverty Reduction Strategy.
	Our policy in Central America is to work with other bilateral donors in order to enhance the impact on poverty of major multilateral agencies, such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Current priorities include enabling poor people to shape, participate in and benefit from access to markets and regional trade, and from more accountable and responsive public sector management, and political systems. In addition we engage regionally on issues of global concern—HIV/AIDS prevention and security. We have a larger programme in Nicaragua, where we are actively involved in the Poverty Reduction Strategy process.

Congo

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department is providing to the Congo Basin Forest Partnership; and whether his Department has participated in discussions about the partnership's objectives.

Hilary Benn: DFID welcomed the Congo Basin Forest Partnership when it was launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development by the governments of the United States and South Africa. DFID staff have since participated in meetings of the Partnership in Africa. The UK contributes to the aims of the Partnership through DFID's work in Cameroon and our work in the region on forest law enforcement and governance.

EU Development Assistance

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the commitment of EU development assistance to (a) Baltic, (b) cross-border and (c) regional co-operation in 2002.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: EU assistance to the Baltic States is largely provided through the PHARE programme (PHARE stands for Poland and Hungary Assistance with Reconstruction, although the programme expanded to cover other countries). The objective of PHARE is to help candidate countries 1 preparations to accede to the European Union. This consists of technical assistance with the implementation of European legislation, and the building of institutional capacity. The Baltic States are also eligible for assistance under the ISPA programme (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession: to help candidate countries to meet environmental standards) and the SAPARD programme (Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development: to help candidate countries deal with the problems of the structural adjustment in their agricultural sectors and rural areas, as well as in the implementation of legislation concerning the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and related issues). The total planned allocation to the Baltic States under these three programmes was approximately Euros323 million in 2002.
	In addition the Tacis programme (development assistance to the nations of Eastern Europe and Central Asia) contains an element for co-operation in the Baltic region. In 2002 this focused on the promotion of environmental protection and management of natural resources and support for the private sector and assistance for economic development. The total planned allocation for this in 2002 was approximately Euros8 million. Cross-border assistance also forms a part of the Tacis programme. It aims to assist border regions in overcoming specific developmental problems, encourage links between economic, social and transport networks, accelerate social and economic reform in the partner states and to reduce transboundary environmental risks and pollution. The total planned allocation for cross-border activities in Tacis in 2002 was approximately Euros27.5. The PHARE programme also contains provision for cross-border activities, the objective of which is to promote cooperation of border regions in countries in central and eastern Europe with adjacent regions in a neighbouring country. The total planned allocation for cross-border activities in PHARE in 2002 was approximately Euros151 million.
	The PHARE and Tacis programmes, as well as the CARDS programme for assistance to the countries of the Western Balkans, contain the facility for spending to promote regional co-operation where that supports delivery of the overall objectives of the programme. It is not possible to produce an estimate for the total spending on regional co-operation in 2002 because this aspect is not individually accounted for in comparable ways across all of the programmes.

Fairtrade

Claire Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action his Department is taking to promote the use of Fairtrade goods in the UK.

Hilary Benn: DFID works with the Fairtrade Foundation to promote the use of Fairtrade goods in the UK.
	Through the Development Awareness Fund, we have provided 120,000 to the media campaigns of the Fairtrade Foundation. These are designed specifically to raise both supermarket and consumer awareness of products carrying the Fairtrade Mark. In 2002, DFID provided £300,000 to the Foundation to help extend the range of Fairtrade products on UK supermarket shelves over the next two years. We also gave a grant to support the Fairtrade town/city brand in the UK over three years. This year, I took part in the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight and participated in a number of other events.
	DFID will continue to support Fairtrade initiatives that raise awareness of the impact our buying decisions can have on poverty.

Opinion Sampling

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his estimate is of total expenditure by his Department on (a) focus groups and (b) opinion polls in each year from 1995–96 to 2003–04; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: In 1998, DFID commissioned Opinion Leader Research (OLR) to undertake baseline focus group research among the UK public. In 2003, we commissioned OLR to undertake further focus group research to explore ways of increasing understanding and support for international development in the UK. DFID also commissions two annual opinion polls on public attitudes to development. One poll, undertaken by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), monitors the opinion of the UK adult population, and the second, undertaken by Market and Opinion Research International (MORI), monitors the opinion of schoolchildren. In 1999, we also undertook a readership survey of "Developments" magazine, in order to test its impact and reach. The results of the focus group research and the opinion polls are used to inform, and monitor the impact of, our work on development awareness and education.
	The Department for International Development was established in 1997. Information on focus group research and opinion polling undertaken in 1995–96 by the Overseas Development Administration is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Contracts for focus group and opinion poll research are let in accordance with agreed tendering procedures to ensure value for money. The annual cost of focus group research and opinion polls is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  Focus groups Cost (£) Opinion polls Cost (£) Total (£) 
		
		
			 1997–98 OLR Baseline Study 43,000 — — 43,000 
			 1998–99 —  — — — 
			 1999–2000 —  ONS Poll 28,200 44,704 
			MORI Poll 14,700  
			Developments Survey 1,804  
			 2000–01 —  ONS Poll 33,000 47,629 
			MORI Poll 14,629  
			 2001–02 —  ONS Poll 34,300 45,815 
			MORI Poll 11,515  
			 2002–03 —  ONS Poll 31,880 43,395 
			MORI Poll 11,515  
			 2003–04 OLR Research 50,309 ONS Poll 32,990 95,519 
			MORI Poll 12,220

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the requirements are on officials in his Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for his departmental officials.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID follows Cabinet Office guidance on the disclosure of interests that is set out in Section 4.3 of the Civil Service Management Code. The letters of appointment for staff draw their attention to the rules on use of official information and related activities that are set out in full in our Staff Handbook. The Handbook states that employees must obtain permission from the Head of Human Resources (a Senior Civil Servant) before entering into any business or financial dealings with individuals or businesses with whom they come into official contact, either directly or indirectly. They must also declare immediately if, in the course of their work, they come into contact with an outside organisation in which they have an interest. We do not hold an official register of interests. There is no requirement to do so.

Water Supplies (Africa)

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance is being made available by (a) the United Kingdom under bilateral arrangements, (b) the European Union, (c) the United States of America and (d) aid agencies to develop clean water supplies in sub-Saharan Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The UK is working with the EU Water Initiative finance working group to improve the tracking of aid flows in the water sector. This is because different donors currently use different criteria to calculate support to the water sector or track support within multi sector projects. Figures may also include or exclude related issues such as water resources management or concessional loans. Data on water expenditure are not, therefore, directly comparable. The most recent available data for support to the water sector in sub-Sahara Africa 2001–02 show expenditure as:
	UK = £29million (NAO 2003 report, excludes programme aid)
	USAID = $12.4 million (based on OECD figures)
	European Commission = Euro 210.7 million (based on OECD figures)
	European Member States total = $ 1.2 billion
	The UK figure does not include our contributions to the European Commission development funds or other multilateral organisations. UK figures include only direct expenditure on the water sector and not multi-sector projects. EC and US figures include broader resource management projects and concessional loans. DFID's approach to these issues is set out in the Water Action Plan which I presented to the House on 5 April 2004.

Wildlife Management

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  if he will assist the governments of (a) Ghana and (b) Cameroon in implementing the indicative actions of the African Forest Law Enforcement and Governance ministerial declaration with respect to (i) wildlife and (ii) bushmeat;
	(2)  what new funding has been released to improve wildlife management since the publication of the Department's Wildlife and Poverty Study;
	(3)  what resources have been allocated to ensure that wildlife and bushmeat issues are incorporated into poverty assessments since the publication of the Department's Wildlife and Poverty Study.

Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to working with the governments of Ghana and Cameroon to strengthen their capacity to deal with wildlife and poverty issues. We do this by supporting sector reform. It is for the governments concerned to prioritise actions within their sector reform programmes. Whether or not these governments choose to prioritise the "indicative actions" included in the Africa Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (AFLEG) Declaration, DFID's support will be to the programme as a whole and not to any particular elements of it.
	The DFID Wildlife and Poverty Study estimated that 150 million very poor people are significantly dependent on wildlife for their food and livelihoods, and that bushmeat is one important part of this. The study drew out implications for donors, governments, the private sector and civil society, but did not make any explicit recommendations to DFID. No new funding has been released specifically to improve wildlife management since its publication. We have however disseminated the findings of the study widely.
	DFID has a two-pronged strategy for ensuring that biodiversity is integrated into development policy and practice by:
	supporting partner governments to identify links between biodiversity and poverty and integrate environmental matters, including biodiversity, into their national policy frameworks for poverty reduction (DFID includes biodiversity in its screening processes for bilateral programmes).
	promoting the adoption of strategic environmental assessments in the multilateral agencies DFID supports, the EC, the UN, the development banks and others.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

District Judges

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General how many district judges (crime) it is intended will be in post in Teesside in 2004.

Christopher Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
	There will be two additional district judges (magistrates courts) in post in Teesside in 2004, from May this year making three in total.

Electronic Tagging

Vera Baird: To ask the Solicitor-General what the Crown Prosecution Service's policy is on prosecuting for criminal damage people on home detection curfew who remove or break their electronic tag.

Harriet Harman: An offender who intentionally damages their electronic tag in order to secure its removal or intentionally damages the monitoring equipment will be in breach of the licence conditions for early release from prison. The electronic monitoring contractor will submit a report to the Early Release and Recall Unit of HM Prison Service, which may result in the licence being revoked and the offender recalled to prison.
	It is for the electronic monitoring contractors to consider reporting to the police for investigation any allegation of criminal damage caused to the tag or the monitoring equipment. Any subsequent decision to pursue a prosecution for criminal damage will be taken by the Crown Prosecution Service in accordance with guidance in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising and Obesity

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of links between television advertising and obesity in children.

Estelle Morris: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made no separate assessment of links between TV advertising and obesity in children but the Department continues to participate in the consultations being undertaken by the Food Standards Agency on the possible impact of broadcast advertising on childhood obesity.
	The Secretary of State has also asked Ofcom to examine the adequacy of its codes regulating the content of broadcast advertising of food to children and Ofcom has indicated that it will make its own assessment of the evidence.
	The impact of food promotion must be considered in the context of the wide range of factors which may have an influence on the increase in childhood obesity, which the Government are addressing through a number of cross-departmental initiatives.

Community Fund

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of Community Fund grants have been distributed to wards in the 20 per cent.most deprived wards in the country according to the 2000 indices of deprivation.

Estelle Morris: The specific information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, the joint Community Fund/New Opportunities Fund Fair Share initiative aims to make Lottery funding more readily available to disadvantaged communities in 77 local areas, which so far have not received their fair share of Lottery funding. The 77 Fair Share areas were selected on the basis of deprivation and low levels of Lottery funding. In England, the levels of deprivation were determined by the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000.

Funding (Redbridge)

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent from central government funds per capita on cultural and sporting activities in the London Borough of Redbridge since 1997.

Richard Caborn: Central government funds have been spent on cultural and sporting activities in the London Borough of Redbridge since 1997 as follows:
	The London Borough of Redbridge received funds directly from DCMS in 2000–01 through the DCMS/Wolfson Fund. The Borough was part of a consortium of ten local authorities that received a total of £160,000 for Reader Development projects. It is not possible to determine what proportion of this money was allocated to Redbridge.
	The London Borough of Redbridge has received the following funds from the Department's directly-funded non-departmental public bodies since 1997.
	
		Arts Council England
		
			 Financial year Grant (£) Details 
		
		
			 1997–98 8,000 To support year 2 (of 3) Partnership funding to implement an arts education development programme 
			 1998–99 8,000 To support year 3 (of 3) Partnership funding to implement an arts education development programme 
			 2000–01 1,000 Towards the cost of dance company residencies in schools as part of the Redbridge Dance Festival 2001 
			 2003–04 10,000 Towards the costs of outreach and education activities linked to Redbridge Dance Festival 2004, and research and planning to support 
			 Total 27,000  
		
	
	
		English Heritage
		
			 Financial year Grant (£) Details 
		
		
			 1997–98 70,000 Since 1997, English Heritage has offered 10,000 p.a. towards the cost of employing a Conservation Officer at Redbridge Council 
			 1999–2000 6,848 Chapel at Wanstead Hospital 
			 2000–01 25,000 Repairs to the Portico at Valentines Mansion 
			 2003–04 3,000 Repairs to "Temple", The Avenue, Wanstead  
			  71,000 Contribution of £12,000 to costs of Stage 1 preparatory works towards major repairs to the Chapel of St. Mary and St Thomas, Ilford, with agreement to a further £59,000 towards repairs following successful completion of Stage 1. 
			 Total 175,848  
		
	
	The total funding from both Arts Council England and English Heritage since 1997 is £202,848. Based on a resident population of 238,635 as measured in the 2001 Census, this equates to £0.85 per person.
	Expenditure on cultural services in Redbridge is also supported by the Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services (EPCS) block of the formula grant. The amount of money that a local authority spends on cultural services is a matter for each individual authority.

Licensees

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding will be offered by her Department to help licensees meet the terms of the Licensing Act 2003; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: We have made it repeatedly clear that the licensing regime to be established under the Licensing Act 2003 should permit the full recovery of the licensing authorities' costs of administration, inspection and enforcement under that regime. We do not consider that taxpayers should subsidise applicants for authorisations under the 2003 Act, save in two instances. During the passage of the Licensing Bill, we gave undertakings in both Houses that schools, sixth form colleges and village, parish or other community halls would be exempted from fees associated with the provision of regulated entertainment. The licensing authorities' costs in these cases will be met by central Government. When compared with the continued operation of the existing licence regimes, we estimate that industry will save £1.97 billion over the first 10 years of the operation of the new regime.

Licensees

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance her Department (a) has issued and (b) plans to issue to licensees regarding the Licensing Act 2003; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Guidance laid in Parliament on 23 March under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 is guidance to licensing authorities on the discharge of their functions under the 2003 Act, but we hope that it will also be beneficial and helpful to future applicants for authorisations under that Act.
	More generally extensive guidance about the Licensing Act 2003 can be found on the DCMS website (www.culture.gsi.gov.uk). In addition, we continue to work closely with local government representatives, representatives of performers, trade associations and other stakeholders on the dissemination of information that will assist potential licensees in understanding their duties and responsibilities under the new Act.

National Lottery

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much National Lottery funding has been allocated to sporting projects in Cornwall in the past five years, broken down by lottery distributor.

Estelle Morris: The information shown in the table is broken down by calendar year. It is derived from information supplied to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport by the Lottery distribution bodies, although the Lottery funding totalled in the table came exclusively from Sport England.
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 67,966 
			 2000–01 142,000 
			 2001–02 192,096 
			 2002–03 104,104 
			 2003–04 12,018 
		
	
	The New Opportunities Fund, the Community Fund and the Awards for All programme also channel funding into projects that may involve an element of sport, however it is not possible to identify this precisely.

OFCOM Consultations

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the consultations launched by Ofcom since October 2003, broken down by (a) estimated cost, (b) length of consultations and (c) number of responses; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: The matter raised the responsibility of OFCOM as independent regulator. Accordingly, my officials have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to respond directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Physical Activity

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of progress towards achieving the physical activity target established in Game Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The first national survey to measure physical activity levels in the population since the publication of Game Plan was the 2003 Health Survey for England, which is likely to report in December 2004.
	In the absence of these data it is difficult to estimate progress against the target established in Game Plan, other than that which can be inferred from ongoing strategies to increase participation in sport and physical activity.
	We will include initial proposals for monitoring and evaluation of measures to increase physical activity in a forthcoming ACT discussion document to be published shortly.

Physical Activity

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what research her Department has commissioned on physical activity, broken down by the (a) cost, (b) recipient of the contract and (c) number of copies of the research published; whether it was published online; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: Sport England, a non departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is working with other Government Departments and Agencies including the Department of Health and the Health Development Agency to undertake research in this area.
	This will contribute to the work of the Activity Co-ordination Team (ACT) created in response to the joint Department for Culture, Media and Sport/Strategy Unit Report Game Plan. ACT has reviewed existing Government research and will include a draft research strategy in a forthcoming ACT discussion document to be published shortly.

Physical Activity

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received from (a) Sport England, (b) the regional sports boards, (c) the Department for Health, (d) the Treasury, (e) the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit and (f) other Government bodies on the physical activity target set in the Game Plan; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Activity Co-ordination Team is considering the feasibility of the Game Plan target and how a partnership between Government, the wider public sector, private and voluntary sectors can work together to meet it. Derek Wanless recommended that the Government's physical activity targets be reviewed. ACT will shortly be publishing a discussion document on delivering increased physical activity, including appropriate targets.

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the requirements are on officials in her Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for her departmental officials.

Richard Caborn: The Civil Service Management Code sets out the requirement for civil servants declaring any conflict of interest. This is brought to the attention of staff in the Department through the Staff Guide. It also identifies areas where a conflict of interest between private and departmental interests could potentially occur, and explains the procedure for the raising of and, where appropriate, the recording of any such conflict with senior management.

Subtitling

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on how her Department is responding to Ofcom's recommendations for subtitle provision, with particular reference to live events.

Estelle Morris: The Government are committed to extending access to broadcasting services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing—hence the new statutory requirements in the Communications Act 2003. The Act requires Ofcom to draw up a code on subtitling provision and gives them the ability to exclude programmes and services from the subtitling requirements after considering a number of criteria including the extent of the benefit for disabled people and technical difficulty.
	Ofcom consulted on a draft code and I understand that, in light of representations received, Ofcom do not now propose to exempt live programming from the subtitling requirements. Indeed Ofcom have concluded that it is important that live programming should be included in the requirement and we welcome that conclusion.

Ticket Touting

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with (a) concert venues, (b) tour promoters, (c) artists, (d) music fans and (e) others regarding ticket touting; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: I have had no formal discussions with these groups on this issue.

Ticket Touting

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance her Department has issued to internet auction sites regarding ticket touts; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: I have issued no guidance to internet auction sites regarding ticket touts.

Ticket Touting

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what research her Department has commissioned into the impact of ticket touting (a) in person, (b) through published advertisements, (c) via internet auction sites and (d) through other means on the live music industry in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: None.

Ticket Touting

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what instructions her Department has issued to the Live Music Forum regarding the impact of ticket touting on live music; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: None. The Forum's aims are to: maximise the take-up of reforms in the Licensing Act 2003 relating to the performance of live music; promote the performance of live music generally; monitor and evaluate the impact of the 2003 Act on the performance of live music; and make recommendations for further action. It will be up to the Forum to decide how best to achieve these aims.

PRIME MINISTER

Counter-terrorism (EU)

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister further to his oral statement on the outcome of the European Council of 29 March 2004, Official Report, column 1259, if he will list the names of the candidates from which the new EC counter-terrorism co-ordinator was chosen; what the reasons were for the choice; and whether the co-ordinator will have the authority to review the security of nuclear materials in transport as part of his responsibilities.

Tony Blair: The counter-terrorism co-ordinator is personally appointed by and responsible to the Secretary-General of the European Council, Javier Solana.
	The co-ordinator will be responsible for co-ordinating the counter-terrorism work of the Council. The security of nuclear materials in transport remains a national responsibility for member states.

Human Rights (China)

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether he raised human rights issues with Jiang Zemin at his meeting with him in 1999.

Tony Blair: I discussed a wide range of issues with President Jiang Zemin during his state visit to the UK in 1999 including bilateral relations, economic co-operation and human rights issues.

Libya

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral statement on Libya of 29 March 2004, Official Report, column 1267, on which date Libya first volunteered information on the extent of their chemical and nuclear weapons programmes; to which countries the highly sensitive documentation and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) related equipment were removed; by whom and how it was decided to where this equipment should be removed; and if he will place in the Library written declarations Libya has made in respect of its WMD programme.

Tony Blair: On 19 December, Libya declared its intention to dismantle completely and verifiably its weapons of mass destruction programmes and to limit the range of its missiles.
	The UK and US assisted Libya by removing all declared nuclear weapons related material to secure locations in the US. This was done with the full knowledge, agreement and cooperation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
	No chemical weapons material related has been removed from Libya. Under the supervision of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), all Libya's declared chemical weapons munitions have been destroyed. We are currently in discussions with the Libyan authorities concerning the destruction of their chemical agents.
	Within their respective remits, the responsibility for verifying Libya's written declarations lies with the IAEA and the OPCW. The Libyan authorities have fully informed these organisations about the details of their weapons programmes. Copies of the IAEA's and OPCW's initial reports on Libya's nuclear and chemical weapons programmes have been placed in the Library of the House.
	The UN has welcomed this move by Libya as a positive step towards the strengthening of global efforts to prevent the spread and use of weapons of mass destruction.

Lockerbie

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister what response he has given to the letter from Mrs. Pamela Dix, Secretary of UK Families Flight 103, requesting a meeting on his discussions with the Libyan leaderships about Lockerbie.

Tony Blair: I will be happy to meet the representatives of the Lockerbie families, as soon as a mutually convenient time can be found. I will brief the families about my talks with Colonel Qadhafi and discuss the issues with them

Majid Nawaz

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make representations to the President of Egypt that he grant a pardon to Majid Nawaz.

Tony Blair: We will consider any further action in relation to Majid Nawaz when we have received a transcript of the judge's summation of the verdict.

Postwatch

Patsy Calton: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has received about line management in Postwatch.

Tony Blair: As far am I am aware, none.

Provisional IRA

David Burnside: To ask the Prime Minister whether he discussed the supply of arms and explosives to the Provisional IRA with Colonel Gaddafi last week.

Tony Blair: I discussed a wide range of issues with Colonel Gadaffi including international and regional security issues, including terrorism.

Rogue States

John Gummer: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 19 January 2004, Official Report, column 923W, on rogue states, whether he has determined that (a) Israel, (b) India and (c) Pakistan fall within the definition given of a rogue state.

Tony Blair: We continue to have serious concerns about proliferation activities in all three states, and regularly raise these concerns with them.

SCOTLAND

Strip Stamps

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has held with the First Minister of Scotland with regard to the introduction of tax stamps on bottles of spirits.

Alistair Darling: I discuss a wide range of topical issues with the First Minister of Scotland.

TRANSPORT

Anonymous Tip-offs

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cases raised through anonymous tip-offs in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003 were referred to the police for further investigation.

David Jamieson: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency has not had any cases of anonymous tip-offs in the South East that have resulted in a police investigation.

Anonymous Tip-offs

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many successful cases were brought against transport companies in Sittingbourne and Sheppey as a result of anonymous tip-offs in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003.

David Jamieson: Neither VOSA or The Office of the Traffic Commissioner in the South East holds a record of the number of successful cases that were brought against companies as the result of an anonymous tip-off.

Buses

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on modernisation of bus fleets under his bus strategy.

Kim Howells: Continuation of the currently high levels of investment by the bus industry in new, modern accessible vehicles is an important part of encouraging bus use and improving local transport provision.
	We agreed targets in 2002 with the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), which represents the vast majority of bus operators in the UK, for reducing the average age of the bus fleet and for increasing the accessibility of vehicles.
	The CPT has committed its members in Great Britain to a target which aims to achieve and maintain an average fleet age of eight years for their vehicles which are mainly used for local bus services, during the period up to 2010. The latest available figure shows an average vehicle age of 7.5 years.
	We are also tracking the proportion of full size bus fleet that is fully accessible, the aim being to ensure that 50 per cent. of vehicles are fully accessible by 2010. The latest available figure shows that 29.3 per cent. of the full size bus fleet currently meet these requirements.

Crossrail

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the viability of the proposal to extend Crossrail to Kingston via Richmond.

Tony McNulty: The Crossrail proposals submitted by Cross-London Rail Links Ltd. (CLRL) include a branch to Kingston. The Review set up by my right hon. Friend under the chairmanship of Adrian Montague has necessarily considered this branch as part of its assessment of the overall deliverability of the proposed team. My right hon. Friend is currently considering the Review Team's findings, which will be published in due course.

Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor vehicles equipped with cameras are used by or on behalf of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency for the purpose of recording untaxed car use; what the total cost has been of such vehicles and equipment; and upon what basis decisions are made concerning their deployment.

Kim Howells: DVLA has 15 automatic number plate reader (ANPR) vans—12 in the UK and three in Northern Ireland. These units have been in operation since October 2001. They are equipped with cameras used to detect unlicensed vehicles on the public road. The annual running cost is approximately £1.2 million.
	These vehicles are deployed throughout the UK and Northern Ireland. They work closely with the police on joint operations to target areas of high VED evasion and are also involved in DVLA publicity campaigns. DVLA has a program of campaigns which cover all areas of the UK over an 18 month period.
	In addition to DVLA's own vehicles police automatic number plate reader cameras are used to identify unlicensed vehicles. This initiative, named Project Laser, was launched in June 2003 and currently involves 23 police forces in the UK.

Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list, by county, the areas in which motor vehicles equipped with cameras used by or on behalf of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency for recording untaxed car use have been deployed during the last 12 months.

Kim Howells: DVLA's Automatic Number Plate Reader (ANPR) vehicles are deployed throughout the UK and Northern Ireland to target areas of high vehicle excise duty evasion. They work closely with the police on joint operations and are also involved in DVLA publicity campaigns. DVLA has a programme to cover all areas of the UK.
	In addition to the DVLA's own vehicles police automatic number plate reader cameras are used to identify unlicensed vehicles. This initiative, named Project Laser, was launched in June 2003 and involves 23 police forces in the UK. This operation also covers large areas of the UK.

Electronic Vehicle Licensing System

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the original targets for the implementation of the Electronic Vehicle Licensing System were; and what the current forecast is; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The original target for implementation of the Electronic Vehicle Relicensing system was February 2004. This target was achieved on 18 February when the first customers used the telephone and internet to purchase their vehicle licence. The service also gives customers the opportunity to make a Statutory Off Road Notification (known as SORN) using the electronic channels. This service is being introduced in a phased approach, customers will be notified when they are eligible to use the service through their Vehicle Licence Application form.

Eurostar (Near Collision)

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the near collision of two Eurostar trains on 23 March.

Kim Howells: Network Rail are undertaking a full internal investigation into an incident involving two Eurostar trains which occurred on 22 March. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will be reviewing Network Rail's report on the incident. The HSE advise that one train was stationary at a signal and the other was travelling at very low speed.

Heavy Goods/Public Service Vehicles

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many routine vehicle checks were carried out on (a) heavy goods vehicles and (b) public service vehicles on road freight transport operators' premises in each of the last 10 years.

David Jamieson: The number of roadworthiness fleet checks carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (formerly the Vehicle Inspectorate) on heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table:
	
		Roadworthiness fleet checks
		
			 Vehicle category HGV PSV 
		
		
			 2002–03 26,487 4,499 
			 2001–02 25,500 4,661 
			 2000–01 39,260 5,197 
			 1999–2000 39,048 5,298 
			 1998–99 39,425 5,759 
			 1997–98 45,170 6,439 
			 1996–97 44,520 7,112 
			 1995–96 48,749 6,800 
			 1994–95 50,942 6,804 
			 1993–94 57,869 8,123 
		
	
	Note:
	The figures for HGV include checks carried out on trailers.
	The reduction in the number of checks carried out in more recent years reflects a change of focus by VOSA on the way its activities are undertaken. Through better data analysis and more effective targeting, VOSA activities increasingly focus on the value of the activity in terms of improving road safety and environmental protection rather than the pure number of inspections.

Jubilee Line

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the British Transport Police were called to the incident involving a train radio fault on the Jubilee Line on 27 March.

Tony McNulty: This is an operational matter for London Underground, who since last July have been part of Transport for London. I understand from London Underground that while British Transport Police (BTP) were made aware of the technical fault with the Jubilee Line radio system on 27 March, there was no need for the BTP to attend.

Litterbugs

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many successful prosecutions were carried out against passengers for dropping litter on (a) trains and (b) buses last year.

Tony McNulty: The British Transport Police have advised me that there were no successful prosecutions against passengers dropping litter on trains during 2003. Two people were successfully prosecuted for littering offences on railway stations. Information on prosecutions for dropping litter on buses is not collected centrally.

M6

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether funding was provided for the signage for the M6 toll motorway by the CAMBRA construction consortium.

David Jamieson: Funding for the signage of the M6 Toll and its approaches was provided by Midland Expressway Ltd. Signing within local town centres indicating routes to the toll road was paid for by the relevant local authorities.

M6

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether funding was provided for the signage for the M6 toll motorway by (a) Midland Expressway Ltd., (b) his Department, (c) the Highways Agency and (d) a combination of public and private finance.

David Jamieson: Funding for the signage of the M6 Toll and its approaches was provided by Midland Expressway Ltd. Signing within local town centres indicating routes to the toll road was paid for by the relevant local authorities.

My Travel

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what advice his Department has received from the Civil Aviation Authority on whether My Travel's ATOL bond is sufficient to meet customer claims in the event of that company's financial failure;
	(2)  what funds the Air Travel Trust Fund would be required to provide to cover the cost of air tickets in the event of the financial failure of My Travel.

Tony McNulty: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) provides advice to the Department on a range of issues connected with the operation of the ATOL scheme.
	In the event of insolvency of any ATOL holder, the bond would be used to cover the costs of repatriation of customers abroad at the time of the failure and to reimburse those who have paid for their holiday or air ticket but yet to travel.
	Due to the seasonal nature of the package travel industry, travel organiser liability varies throughout the year. The level of bond that ATOL holders establish with the CAA is based on their projected licensable turnover but if in the event of insolvency the bond proves to be insufficient, monies from the Air Travel Trust Fund would be used to make up the difference.

Office of the Traffic Commissioner

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ask an external body to audit the work of the Office of the Traffic Commissioner in Eastbourne.

David Jamieson: The Traffic Commissioner for the South East and Metropolitan Area based in Eastbourne is statutorily independent in his licensing functions and not subject to audit.
	His administrative support is provided by staff of the Department for Transport whose work is periodically audited under arrangements agreed with the National Audit Office and there is no need to advance the standing programme.

Port Security

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent in the 2003–04 financial year on the training of port security officers.

David Jamieson: My Department's Transport Security Directorate (TRANSEC) was responsible for developing the required training parameters for PFSOs and approving the training providers, TRANSEC absorbed the necessary staff costs associated with developing the regime. In addition TRANSEC is also absorbing the subsequent costs of conducting unannounced audits to ensure that the trainers are teaching the approved syllabus to the required standard.
	However, industry is meeting the costs of putting individual PFSOs through the training courses. Courses generally run for three days (21 hours) and costs vary between the approved training providers; the range being £300 to £2,000 per candidate per course.
	Approved training providers are listed on the Departmental website at: www.dft.gov.uk.

Powered Two-wheelers

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2004, Official Report, column 405W, on powered two-wheelers, when he expects to be able to provide the figures requested.

David Jamieson: Casualty statistics for Two Wheeled Motor Vehicle users in 2003 are due to be published as part of the Road Casualties in Great BritainMain Results bulletin on 24 June 2004. A copy of the bulletin will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Rail Services (Kent)

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the change in the numbers of those using the (a) A2 and (b) M2 as a consequence of the Strategic Rail Authority's Integrated Kent Franchise proposals.

Tony McNulty: The SRA has examined the shift from road to rail on an aggregate basis, not by individual roads, as part of the appraisal of the Integrated Kent Franchise. The impact of the Integrated Kent Franchise on road usage will depend on the pattern of services chosen following the consultation exercise currently in progress.

Regional Assemblies

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) responsibility for local transport plans and (b) functions of the Highways Agency could be transferred to regional assemblies.

Tony McNulty: The transport powers of elected regional assemblies were set out in the White Paper Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions (Cm5511).
	Elected regional assemblies will be responsible for advising government on funding allocations for local transport, taking over functions currently exercised by regional government offices. There are no plans to transfer the functions of the Highways Agency to regional assemblies.

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the requirements are on officials in his Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for his departmental officials.

Tony McNulty: The Department's staff are required to inform line managers and Human Resources of any conflict of interests. The Department does not keep a register for conflicts of interests.

Seatbelts

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications for exemption from the requirement to wear a seat belt in the front seat of a car on the public highway have been (a) received and (b) granted in each of the past 10 years.

David Jamieson: There is no requirement for vehicle users to apply for such exemptions. The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993 No. 176), and The Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts by Children in Front Seats) Regulations 1993 (SI 1993 No. 31) provide exemptions for specific situations and/or occupational groups.
	Doctors can also exempt a person from the requirement to use a seat belt on medical grounds. The Regulations are available on-line at: www.legislation. hmso.gov.uk.

South Hampshire Rapid Transit Project

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress with the South Hampshire Rapid Transit project, with particular reference to the expected starting date.

Tony McNulty: This scheme remains under consideration following a significant increase in the proposed level of central Government funding. A decision will be made in due course.

Track Access Costs

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the track access costs for each train company for each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The track access costs since 1997 are in the following table. These figures include both the fixed and variable track access charges and charges for the use of stations and depots.
	
		Track access costs --  million
		
			 TOC Name Sector 199697 199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 200304 
		
		
			 Anglia Railways LSE 10.40 43.85 44.20 44.64 44.75 25.38 26.28 27.74 
			 Arriva Trains Merseyside Regional 5.87 33.31 32.25 31.97 31.59 30.64 26.31 29.18 
			 Arriva Trains Northern Regional 12.64 164.54 165.73 166.66 164.16 157.50 142.37 115.80 
			 Central Trains Regional 10.55 126.66 127.83 125.27 122.69 97.11 98.78 110.00 
			 Chiltern Railways LSE 11.31 19.00 19.46 19.86 20.63 18.07 21.04 25.16 
			 C2C LSE 32.98 39.17 38.99 39.15 39.25 32.61 34.16 34.90 
			 Connex South Eastern LSE 75.16 159.88 159.94 158.70 156.28 162.42 161.69 183.01 
			 East London Line LSE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 First Great Eastern LSE 17.64 74.11 74.36 74.04 72.93 73.52 71.64 73.57 
			 First Great Western Strategic 96.30 100.29 112.46 111.27 109.27 112.11 109.78 118.51 
			 First North Western Regional 9.61 117.17 120.89 120.70 118.86 117.49 117.72 107.80 
			 Gatwick Express LSE 10.18 11.85 11.10 11.27 10.97 14.05 14.20 14.90 
			 Great North Eastern Railway Strategic 175.61 147.90 148.47 150.35 148.48 93.54 96.93 103.80 
			 Greater Anglia LSE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Integrated Kent LSE 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 Island Line LSE 0.59 1.29 1.21 1.21 1.28 1.33 1.40 1.53 
			 Midland Mainline Strategic 32.29 35.21 34.74 35.06 34.94 28.28 31.06 35.90 
			 Northern Regional 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 South Central LSE 108.59 129.04 132.12 130.12 130.78 106.07 108.99 121.50 
			 Scotrail Regional 0.00 177.68 184.85 183.46 181.22 145.69 157.64 176,92 
			 Silverlink LSE 4.47 55.17 56.29 55.18 54.34 73.42 79.76 84.84 
			 South West Trains LSE 159.35 162.52 161.85 165.56 163.97 139.75 145.13 170.48 
			 Thames Trains LSE 18.80 40.16 40.75 40.24 39.89 30.78 32.90 26.20 
			 Thameslink LSE 3.73 44.41 45.45 45.93 45.40 34.24 35.64 29.10 
			 TransPennine Express Strategic 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 9.60 
			 Virgin West Coast Strategic 9.80 153.03 149.36 148.26 133.30 279.30 195.76 309.92 
			 Virgin Cross Country Strategic 23.00 102.71 104.93 105.80 103.53 152.80 162.84 177.21 
			 West Anglia Great Northern LSE 0.00 94.26 93.67 93.78 93.54 79.58 81.99 86.80 
			 Wales and Borders Trains Regional 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.05 44.42 64.33 
			 Wessex Trains Regional 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 5.82 25.37 29.20

Traffic Calming

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of claims against local authorities in each of the last five years related to incidents involving (a) speed humps and (b) other methods of traffic calming; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Information about claims against local authorities is not held by the Department for Transport.

Transport for London

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the capital allocation to Transport for London for (a) 200304 and (b) 200405 was, broken down by (i) bus and (ii) Underground.

Kim Howells: My Department provides block funding to Transport for London through the GLA Transport Grant, and it is for the Mayor to determine how much of this grant should be allocated for capital investment in buses or London Underground. The GLA Transport Grant was l,681.932 million in 200304, and will be 2,224.556 million in 200405.

Urban Light Rail

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the potential of urban light rail to help relieve congestion and pollution.

Tony McNulty: We recognise that urban light rail is one of the possible measures that can help relieve congestion and pollution. A number of light rail schemes are under development. These are appraised according to the Departments' New Approach To Appraisal framework which assesses how significant these impacts are alongside other criteria and whether a scheme represents value for money.

Vehicle Excise Duty

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motor vehicles have been crushed in the last six months for which figures are available for non-payment of vehicle excise duty; in how many of these cases the owner initially objected thereto; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Between 1 October 2003 and 30 March 2004, DVLA and local authorities with devolved clamping powers clamped 30,500 unlicensed vehicles. Of these 14,600 were disposed of by crushing as they were in too poor a condition to put back on the road.
	No figures are available for the number of vehicle keepers who initially objected. However crushing is treated as the final option when disposing of vehicles. Every effort is made to contact the current keeper when unlicensed vehicles are clamped and vehicles are kept in pounds for a minimum of seven days for this purpose. It is only after it becomes clear that the keeper cannot be identified or they provide a disclaimer that vehicles are disposed of by crushing.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Community Relations Core Funding Scheme

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will meet representatives from the Christian Education Movement to discuss the new round of the Community Relations Core Funding Scheme 2004 to 2007.

Jane Kennedy: I understand that the Christian Education Movement is currently in the process of pursuing the formal appeal process in connection with the Department of Education's decision not to provide funding under the Community Relations Core Funding Scheme for the period April 2004 to 2007. In the circumstances, it would not be appropriate for Ministers to intervene.

Community Relations Core Funding Scheme

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the advisory group established to hear appeals from unsuccessful applicants for the Community Relations Core Funding Scheme 2004 to 2007 will meet; who its members are; and on what basis each member was chosen.

Jane Kennedy: The members of the Advisory Panel, which was set up to assist the Department of Education in considering applications for funding from the Community Relations Core Funding Scheme are:
	
		
			 Member  
		
		
			 Tom McCready Non-scoring Chairman, Head of Youth Services and Community Relations Branch, DE 
			 Phyllis Richardson Community Relations Branch, DE 
			 Walker Ewart Education and Training Inspectorate, DE 
			 Norman Richardson Lecturer, Stranmillis College 
			 Gerard Doran Youth Officer, Southern Education and Library Board 
			 June Neill Assistant Advisory Officer, Western Education and Library Board 
			 Brendan Hartop UNESCO Centre, University of Ulster 
		
	
	The members of the Advisory Panel were appointed from a broad spectrum of educational interests because of their expertise in community relations policy and practice.
	The Advisory Panel also has a role in assisting the Department in its consideration of formal appeals against the Department's decision not to fund certain organisations. The Advisory Panel will consider and offer advice to the Department on each appeal as it arises and on the basis of its individual merits. There will be no single meeting held to consider all appeals received.

Electricity

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what reports he has received on proposals to generate electricity from lignite in Northern Ireland.

Ian Pearson: None.

Health Services

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of (a) residential care and (b) nursing home places in Northern Ireland are provided by independent charities or non-profit organisations.

Angela Smith: Information on the number of residential care and nursing home places according to whether they are provided by independent charities or non-profit organisations is not collected centrally. However, information is available on total places provided by all voluntary organisations. At 31 March 2003, 29 per cent. of available residential care places and nine per cent. of available nursing home places were provided by such organisations.

Health Services

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many allergy sufferers he estimates there are in the Province.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not available.

Health Services

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Duchenne muscular dystrophy sufferers he estimates there are in the Province.

Angela Smith: Research conducted in 2003 indicates that there are 62 Duchenne muscular dystrophy sufferers in the province, a prevalence of 3.5 per 100,000 population.

Hospital Funding

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list (a) the meetings he has held and (b) the correspondence he has had with representatives from (i) The Ulster Hospital, Dundonald and (ii) The Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust in relation to the funding shortfall within the Trust.

Angela Smith: I have not had any meetings with the Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust nor received any correspondence on this issue. Meetings regarding funding would normally take place between the Board and Trust, with the Department regularly updated on progress and any relevant issues.

Illegal Dumping

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the costs resulting from illegal dumping in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The term illegal dumping may be taken to include a wide range of illegal waste management activities ranging from small-scale dumping, referred to as 'fly-tipping', through to the use of sites to dispose illegally of significant quantities of waste.
	An illegal site containing in the region of 10,000 tonnes of waste may cost approximately 1,000,000 to remediate by waste removal. The total number of such sites in Northern Ireland is not known. However, my Department's Environment and Heritage Service is currently investigating 20 sites ranging in capacity from 5,000 to 26,000 tonnes.
	In addition to the cost of remediation of illegal sites, illegal dumping also impacts adversely, in competitive terms, on those operating legitimate waste management businesses.

Invest NI

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are taken by Invest NI to establish whether companies applying for grants have a solvent pension scheme.

Ian Pearson: The issue of solvency of the pension fund of a company seeking assistance from Invest NI only arises in relation to larger operations that provide defined benefit schemes to their employees.
	From an industrial development perspective, the important issue is the ability of an applicant company to demonstrate that it can fund its proposal for assistance in the context of all of its liabilities, including those relating to the pension scheme. Under Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 17, the statutory accounts of a company must disclose full details of any liability to the pension fund. Invest NI would therefore become aware of any pension scheme insolvency issues through a company's most recent statutory accounts.

Organ Retention

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the television advertising campaign to notify people in Northern Ireland about post mortems and organ retention will commence; and how many leaflets on the subject have so far been distributed in the Province.

Angela Smith: An ongoing multi-media campaign has been running since June 2002, when the Human Organs Inquiry report was published. A sub-committee of the Department's Human Organs Implementation Steering Group is tasked with managing this campaign in conjunction with a firm of PR/Advertising consultants. No decision to use TV advertising has yet been taken but the campaign is kept under review.
	Almost 700,000 of the Department's leaflet Post Mortem Examinations and the Human Organs InquiryImportant New Information for Everyone in Northern Ireland have been distributed throughout Northern Ireland. These have been delivered to homes by the Royal Mail and circulated through HPSS networks.
	A further 18,500 leaflets about the Human Organs Enquiry Line (NI) have also been distributed by Enquiry Line staff.

Pulmonary Hypertension

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pulmonary hypertension sufferers there were in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: Information is not available on the number of pulmonary hypertension sufferers in Northern Ireland. Information is, however, available on the number of people admitted to hospitals in Northern Ireland each year suffering from pulmonary hypertension, and is shown for the years 199899 to 200203 and is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Numbers admitted to hospital with pulmonary hypertension 
		
		
			 199899 74 
			 19992000 91 
			 200001 88 
			 200102 122 
			 200203 197

School Finance

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to what extent the Common Funding Formula for schools has been implemented; what the timescale is for full implementation; what criteria are being used to determine the timescale for implementation; and what steps are being taken to ensure children in the more rural board areas are not adversely affected by the timescale for implementation.

Jane Kennedy: The Common Funding Formula (CFF) has not been implemented. The plan is to consult schools on the final proposals for the CFF shortly, with the aim of implementing Common Funding in April 2005. The implementation of Common Funding will be undertaken within finite budgetary constraints, and central to this will be the issue of manageability, especially for schools facing reductions in their relative budget share. All existing Funding Formulae contain a Small School Factor to facilitate the delivery of the curriculum. Small schools with above average teaching costs may also receive additional support through the Teachers' Salary Protection Factor.

School Finance

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which schools in the South Eastern Education and Library Board area are (a) experiencing financial deficit and (b) projected to face a financial deficit in the next financial year.

Jane Kennedy: I understand from the Chief Executive of the South-Eastern Education and Library Board that the following schools are expected to have a deficit at 31 March 2004:
	Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School
	Carr Primary School
	Carryduff Primary School
	Castle Gardens Primary School
	Comber Primary School
	Cregagh Primary School
	Crossgar Primary School
	Donaghadee High School
	Downshire Primary School
	Gilnahirk Primary School
	Glencraig Primary School
	Groomsport Primary School
	Hillhall Primary School
	Holywood Primary School
	Kilmaine Primary School
	Lambeg Primary School
	Legamaddy Primary School
	Londonderry Primary School
	Newport Primary School
	Newtownards Model Primary School
	Newtownbreda Primary School
	Old Warren Primary School
	Our Lady Queen of Peace Primary School
	Priory College
	Redburn Primary School
	Sacred Heart Primary School
	St. Colman's Primary School, Lisburn
	St. Colman's Primary School, Moira
	St. Joseph's Primary School, Carryduff
	St. Joseph's Primary School, Strangford
	St. Joseph's Primary School, Downpatrick
	St. Joseph's Primary School, Crossgar
	St. Malachy's Primary School
	St. Mary's Primary School, Portaferry
	St. Mary's Primary School, Killyleagh
	St. Patrick's Primary School
	Tyrella Primary School
	Information for the next financial year is not yet available.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Bogus Traders

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many bogus traders have been reported in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information is not available centrally.

Bogus Traders

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many bogus traders have been convicted for illegal practices in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information is not available centrally.

Bogus Traders

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the average age of those targeted by bogus traders in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK, in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: No such assessment has been made.

Miners' Pension Schemes

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total sum is that has been taken to date by the Treasury from the miners' pension schemes under the terms of the 1994 agreement.

Nigel Griffiths: The receipts from the two schemes since payments began in 199697 are as follows:
	
		 million
		
			  BCSSS MPS Total 
		
		
			 199697 39.5 0.0 39.5 
			 199798 39.5 113.0 152.5 
			 199899 107.1 113.0 220.1 
			 19992000 107.1 0.0 107.1 
			 200001 110.3 315.0 425.3 
			 200102 216.0 196.0 412.0 
			 200203 216.0 196.0 412.0 
			 200304 216.0 175.0 391.0 
			 Total 1,051.5 1,108.0 2,159.5 
		
	
	The terms of the 1994 agreement have meant that similar amounts have been available to the trustees to award substantial bonuses of around 30 per cent. to the schemes' members.

Rogue Traders

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government are taking to tackle the problem of rogue traders.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government have introduced a number of new measures to empower and inform consumers.
	The Enterprise Act 2002 introduced a new concept of supercomplaints. It provided the legislative framework for the Office of Fair Trading to conduct an investigation of the doorstep selling market in response to supercomplaint from NACAB (now Citizen's Advice). The OFT's report is expected shortly.
	The Enterprise Act also included provisions to strengthen the powers available to enforcement authorities to tackle the activities of rogue traders. The Stop Now Orders, first introduced in 2001 by implementation of the Injunctions Directive in the UK, created a new enforcement regime across a wide range of consumer protection legislation. They enabled designated enforcement authorities to apply to the courts for Stop Now Orders to stop the practices of rogue traders if they are acting against the collective interests of consumers. The Enterprise Act has extended that protection across an even wider range of consumer protectionparticularly in the service sector.
	Another way in which we are informing and empowering consumers is the development of Consumer Support Networks (CSNs). These bring together organisations to plan and deliver better, more accessible and more joined-up support for local consumers. Across Britain, the Networks are helping to raise awareness of consumer issues. This includes considerable emphasis on issues relating to sales in the home, particularly for vulnerable or older consumers.
	The Government has made up to 30 million of new money available over a 3 year period to roll out a new national consumer helplineConsumer Direct. With a single, widely publicised number, it will be a powerful tool for consumer advice across Britain. Consumers, no matter where they live, will be able to access reliable, independent help on consumer matters via their own phone, for the price of a local rate call. For those who prefer it, the service will be available on-line.

Better Regulation Task Force

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action her Department has taken to implement the recommendation of the Better Regulation Task Force report of May 2002 that there be independent expert input into considering alternatives to state regulation.

Nigel Griffiths: The Department has appointed two independent experts to examine alternatives to regulation following the Better Regulation Task Force report.

Bridges Community Development

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much public finance from the Bridges Community Development Venture Fund has been invested in Crosby.

Nigel Griffiths: The Fund Manager, Bridges Community Ventures Ltd. has confirmed that as at the end of December 2003, the Bridge Community Development Venture Fund has invested over 5 million in nine small and medium enterprises located within disadvantaged wards in England. The Fund Manger did not identify any investment opportunities specifically in Crosby.

Business Link

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many small businesses in Crosby have received advice from Business Link.

Nigel Griffiths: Greater Merseyside Enterprise Ltd. (Business Link Operator for Merseyside) has provided advice to 126 companies within the Crosby constituency area since April 2001.

Carbon Monoxide

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will meet ministerial colleagues from other Departments at the earliest opportunity to discuss ways in which to alert the public to the dangers of carbon monoxide leakage from faulty gas appliances.

Des Browne: I have no present plans to meet ministerial colleagues, as awareness-raising is already being undertaken by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the industry, including the Council for Registered Gas Installers (CORGI), in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Health.

Child Poverty (Minimum Income Standards)

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what recent consultation she has conducted with (a) young people and (b) adults on low income in relation to minimum income standards;
	(2)  if she will establish an independent minimum income standards commission to tackle poverty in the UK; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what recent representations she has received on minimum income standards; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what research has been (a) commissioned and (b) collated by her Department on minimum income standards.

Chris Pond: I have been asked to reply.
	When we launched our consultation exercise, Measuring Child Poverty, in April 2002, we sought views from a wide range of interested parties, including academics and poverty experts, as well as children, young people and adults with direct experience of poverty. The final conclusions of this consultation were published as Measuring Child Poverty in December 2003; a copy is available in the Library.
	We have received a number of representations on minimum income standards from hon. Members, through parliamentary questions and correspondence. This topic has always engendered interest from interested lobby groups and members of the public.
	We commission research to inform and evaluate policies aimed at alleviating poverty, but there is no accepted single research method that can be used to calculate a minimum income standard for all families. What people need to live on varies greatly, and is dependant on a range of factors.
	Poverty is wider than income alone. We have a comprehensive strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion, and our annual report Opportunity for all sets out how we are tackling the problems faced by individuals throughout their lives.
	We have no plans to establish an independent minimum income standards commission.

Companies House/Insolvency Service

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the 200304 performance targets were for (a) Companies House and (b) the Insolvency Service; and what the level of performance was against each target.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table sets out The Insolvency Service's performance against published targets and indicators for the first 11 months of 200304 to 29 February 2004.
	
		Key target and performance indicators 200304
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 Percentage of user satisfaction as measured by the User Satisfaction Index 86 81 
			 Number of complete case administrations 26,000 26,239 
			 The average time of concluding disqualification proceedings in months 24 22.4 
			 Percentage of disqualification cases concluded within:  
			 30 Months 85 71.7 
			 24 Months 60 41.7 
			 Action invoices for payment within:  
			 30 days of receipt 100 98.99 
			 20 days of receipt 97 96.26 
			 Action Insolvency Services Account payments within 4 days of receipt 98 97.3 
			 Action Redundancy Payment claims within 6 weeks 82 88.59 
			 Contain the increase in the cost of administration +1 (10) 
			 Contain the increase in the cost of investigating cases +10 (10) 
		
	
	(10) Not yet available
	The following table shows Companies House performance against published targets and indicators for the first 11 months of 200304 to 29 February 2004.
	
		Percentage
		
			  200304 target Achieved to 29 February 2004 
		
		
			 To maintain on average a monthly compliance rate for accounts submitted 95 96 
			 Data capture accuracy of all forms submitted to Companies House 96.5 error free 95 
			 Image quality of all images placed on the image system 98 error free 97 
			 Product and service availability on CHD (7am to 8pm Monday to Friday) 98 of the time 98 
			 Product and service availability on website (7am to 8pm Monday to Friday) 98 of the time 98 
			 Resolve complaints within five days 97 98 
			 Reply to MPs' letters to the Chief Executive within 10 days 100 100 
			 Achieve a score of more than 80 per cent. in each quarterly Companies House customer satisfaction survey More than 80 85 
			 Unit cost reduction on document registration in real terms 3 (11) 
			 Average rate of return based on the operating surplus as percentage of average net assets Average 6 (11) 
			 Payment of bills within 30 days, or on other agreed credit terms, on receipt of goods or services or a valid invoice 100 100 
		
	
	(11) Not yet available

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to reply to the letter to her of 23 January 2004 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire.

Mike O'Brien: My noble Friend the Minister for Science and Innovation replied to the letter in 31 March 2004.

Departmental Buildings

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) renovation and (b) maintenance projects on buildings (i) owned and (ii) rented by her Department were undertaken in each of the last five years; and what the associated costs were of each.

Patricia Hewitt: My Department undertakes a wide variety of projects as part of on-going maintenance and improvements of its current stock. The total capital cost of minor works, maintenance, and renovation projects involving significant works to the building services and fabric, over the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year  million 
		
		
			 19992000 2.15 
			 200001 1.80 
			 200102 4.75 
			 200203 2.20 
			 200304 2.30 
		
	
	Those of a significant value are as follows:
	
		Works projects over 1million in value
		
			  Financial year 
			  19992000 200001 200102 200203 200304 
		
		
			 Abbey Orchard Street Fit-out 878 202
			 1 Victoria Street and Kingsgate House Lift Refurbishment 1,004  100   
			 1 Victoria Street Conference Centre Extension  416 2,711   
			 Elizabeth House Fit-out729

Departmental Officials

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which former officials of the Department have asked for permission to join (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte  Touche, (c) Ernst and Young and (d) KPMG.

Patricia Hewitt: DTI civil servants like all civil servants are subject to the Business Appointment Rules, which set out the circumstances in which they must seek permission to accept outside appointments within two years of leaving the service. A copy of the Rules is available in the Libraries of the House. Information about appointments taken up by the most senior staff are published in the annual reports of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.
	Since 2001 the following have sought permission under the Business Appointment Rules to join the firms named. (a) PricewaterhouseCoopersOne retired Senior Civil Servant
	(b) Deloitte  ToucheNone
	(c) Ernst and YoungNone
	(d) KPMGOne former Insolvency Service Examiner

Employment Agencies

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the employment agencies which her Department has used to supply temporary staff in each financial year since 199697 to the most recent date for which figures are available.

Patricia Hewitt: The following list is of those employment agencies that have supplied my Department with temporary staff for the calendar year 2003. However, the information requested for the period 1996 to 2002 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The DTI has had a formal agreement with Adecco, since 1 December 2002, and most of its requirements for temporary staff are met by Adecco. However, the Department uses the services of other employment agencies, where they can supply temporary staff with specific skills.
	Aberdeen Appointments
	Accountancy additions
	Adecco UK Ltd.
	Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd.
	Badenoch and Clark Ltd.
	Blue Arrow
	Brook Street (UK) Ltd.
	Carlisle Staffing Services
	Champion Employment Ltd.
	Excel Recruitment Ltd.
	Hays Accountancy Personnel
	Hays Montrose
	Headway Recruitment
	Jones Yarrell and Company
	Josephine Sammons Ltd.
	Kelly Services (UK) Ltd.
	Keychain Ltd.
	LNA Associates Ltd.
	Manpower UK Ltd.
	Michael Page Marketing
	Murphine Capital Recruitment
	Office Angels Ltd.
	PSD Group
	Reed Accountancy Personnel
	Reed Personnel Service
	Reed Solutions plc

Energy Supplies

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps have been taken by her Department to ensure energy supplies to the United Kingdom once North Sea reserves have expired.

Stephen Timms: Maintaining reliable energy supplies, now and in the future, is one of the key goals for UK energy policy set out in the Energy White Paper published in February 2003. It set out how the Government is working with industry to maximise the economic potential of our North Sea reserves, particularly through the PILOT initiative.
	However, the White Paper also noted that it is likely that the UK will become a net importer of gas on an annual basis by around 2006 and of oil by around 2010. By 2020 we are likely to be importing around three-quarters of our primary energy needs.
	The UK will then be in the same position as most other advanced industrial economies which already import significant proportions of their energy need without noticeable disruption. Import dependency has long been a fact of life for all the G7 countries apart from the UK and Canada.
	Oil and currently to a lesser extent gas are internationally traded commodities. And all countries, whether import-dependent or not, have a common interest in promoting open markets and predictable prices.
	Current gas import infrastructure projects would facilitate imports from Norway, Netherlands, Russia, Qatar, Algeria, other LNG exporters, or other sources of piped gas or LNG into continental Europe. For example, we have agreed the key principles of a new agreement with Norway which will facilitate a range of cross boundary oil and gas developments including the construction of a pipeline between Norwegian offshore infrastructure and the Easington terminal in the UK. This pipeline will deliver dry gas from Norway's Ormen Lange field and when operational will be capable of delivering up to 20 per cent. of the UK's gas demand.
	The expansion of renewable energy is also important for the contribution it will make to ensuring secure energy supplies (as well as to achieving our environmental goals). Our recent Renewables Innovation Review was very clear on the future costs of all renewables technologies and we can see that renewables offer the best opportunity for the new capacity we need. We have set as our first goal obtaining 10 per cent. of our electricity from renewable sources by 2010, with the aspiration of doubling this by 2020.
	Wind energy, as the form of renewable energy with far the best immediate prospects for expansion, will play a very big part in this expansion. Through capital and research grants, we are also encouraging the development of other forms of renewable energy such as biomass and energy crops, photovoltaic and wave and tidal energy, so as to create a much more diversified renewable energy sector over the longer term.
	As stated in the Energy White Paper: while The Government does not have specific proposals for new nuclear build now, we do not rule out the possibility that at some point in the future new build might be necessary to meet our carbon targets.

Entrepreneurship

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps her Department is taking to promote entrepreneurship as a career option for graduates.

Nigel Griffiths: The Small Business Service and the Department for Education and Skills have collaborated to help establish the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE), as a private company limited by guarantee. The NCGE will promote the idea of starting a business as a viable career option for students and graduates. Six Directors have so far been appointed to the Board of the NCGE, with David Frost (Director General, British Chambers of Commerce) acting as interim Chairman and Karan Bilimoria (Founder and Chief Executive, Cobra Beer) recruited as the Council's Graduate Entrepreneur Champion.
	The establishment of the Council builds upon support already provided by Government to help promote Entrepreneurship as a viable career option to students and graduates. The Small Business Service provides support of around 1 million per annum to support organisations such as Enterprise Insight, Young Enterprise, Shell LiveWIRE and Graduate Prospects in undertaking enterprise awareness and enterprise education activities aimed at young people. Each has a focus within their activities of providing practical advice and information to graduates.

Flexible Hours

Alan Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of employers who offer flexible hours of work to employees, broken down by sector.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table is taken from the DTI commissioned report: The Second Work-Life Balance Study: Results from the Employers Survey Main Report. The study was a large cross sectional survey which yielded nationally representative data of employers provision of flexible working time practices and leave arrangements.
	This report is one of a number of reports on Work-life Balance and Flexible Working which form part of the Department's ongoing research programme on employment relations and labour market issues. Such studies are placed in the Libraries of the House upon publication.
	
		Figure 1 -- Percentage
		
			 Standard industrial Part-time Term-time Job share Flexitime Compressed hours Annualised hours Reduced hours 
		
		
			 Agriculture, fishing and mining 29 8 5 15 6 11 11 
			 Manufacturing 33 4 5 15 4 6 12 
			 Electricity, Gas, Water Supply (48) (5) (10) (12) (5) () (10) 
			 Construction 51 1 4 12 2 4 5 
			 Wholesale and Retail trade 17 11 3 17 4 6 13 
			 Hotels and Restaurants 4 23 10 31 11 11 33 
			 Transport, Storage and Communication 29 3 4 16 8 4 14 
			 Financial Intermediation (6) (10) (10) (24) (18) (8) (21) 
			 Real Estate, and Business Acts. 21 5 17 28 10 5 14 
			 Public Administration and Defence 4 21 50 71 11 7 28 
			 Education 2 81 45 21 4 24 10 
			 Health and Social Work 13 13 15 35 12 5 19 
			 Other Community 12 8 20 30 7 13 10 
			 All Workplaces 74 16 14 24 7 8 15

Miners' Compensation

Kevin Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many miners' compensation claims the solicitors Frank Allen Pennington of Doncaster have handled to date; and how much they have received in fees.

Nigel Griffiths: As of 25 March 2004 the figures are as follows:
	
		
			  COPD VWF 
		
		
			 Total claims registered (Number) 369 509 
			 Total solicitors costs () 269,789 283,132

National Institute for Medical Research

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the future of the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill.

Patricia Hewitt: The Medical Research Council (MRC) has established an expert Task Force to make recommendations to MRC Council on the future of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR). Their interim report will be available on the MRC website shortly.
	It is expected that a decision on the future of NIMR will be announced by MRC in the summer.

National Minimum Wage

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage for 16 to 17-year-olds on the numbers of young people staying in education or training until the age of 18.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government are committed to ensuring that young people reach the age of 19 with the skills they need to compete in a modern, global economy. Our ambition is that UK staying-on rates after 16 should be among the highest in the OECD.
	The new minimum wage rate that will be introduced for 16 and 17-year-old workers at 3.00 per hour with effect from 1 October 2004 has been set with this concern very much in mind. First, the great majority of young workers are already being paid in excess of this rate, and research commissioned by the Low Pay Commission for their latest report concluded that a new minimum wage rate introduced at this level would have negligible effects on education participation. Second, Education Maintenance Allowances will be implemented nationally this autumn and these will provide payments of up to 30 per week for young people who choose to continue in full-time education after reaching compulsory school leaving age. The report of the 1619 Financial Support Review, Supporting young people to achieve: towards a new deal for skills, was published alongside the budget. That report sets out the Government's proposals to ensure that young people aged 1619 have the support and incentives they need to participate in education and training.

National Minimum Wage

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints in each year since its introduction have been received relating to alleged underpayment of the national minimum wage; how many of these complaints in each year have been investigated; how many employers in each year were found not to be complying with the national minimum wage requirements; and what the level of underpayment of the national minimum wage identified in each year was.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The data requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  19992000 200001 200102 200203 (12)200304 
		
		
			 Number of complaints 4,682 2,365 1,722 1,998 1,786 
			 Number investigated 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 
			 Number of employers not complying () 1,280 2,119 1,937 1,996 1,961 
			 Underpayment identified 1,242,341 3,034,373 5,135,799 3,585,941 2,253,176 
		
	
	(12) Up to February 2004
	Note:
	The Inland Revenue investigate all complaints about underpayment of the minimum wage. In addition to complaints, they also use tax credit and other data to identify employers who they believe may not be compliant with the minimum wage.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  pursuant to her answer of 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1683W, on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, when her officials have been actively seeking new spent nuclear fuel reprocessing contracts in the last 24 months;
	(2)  pursuant to her answer of 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1683W, on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, whether the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will be seeking new spent fuel reprocessing contracts.

Stephen Timms: My officials have taken no steps to actively seek new reprocessing contracts in the last 24 months. It will be matter for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to decide whether or not to seek new reprocessing contracts once it is established.
	Before any new THORP contacts could be concluded or changes made to existing contracts that increased volume of spent fuel to be reprocessed at THORP, the approval of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry would be required. Before making any decision on any such future proposal, the Government would review it against the specific criteria that were set out in the July 2002 White Paper on Managing the Nuclear Legacy.

R and D (Crosby)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many research and development grants have been given to businesses in Crosby from Business Link.

Nigel Griffiths: There have been two offers made and accepted of Smart grant (now Research and Development Grant) in the Crosby area since 1997 with a total value of 154,401.
	The number of Research and Development Grant offered to Businesses in the whole of the Merseyside area since 2000, is 102 with value of claims paid to the sum of 3,704,694.

Regional Development Agencies

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the locations of the overseas (a) offices and (b) representations of each regional development agency; what the cost is of each of these representations; and how many staff were employed in each in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to my answers of 26 January 2004, Official Report, columns 7376W and 5 February 2004, Official Report, columns 9991000W.

Phoenix Fund

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been allocated to Crosby from the Phoenix Fund.

Nigel Griffiths: Seven CDFFs (Community Development Finance Institutions), which is covered by the Phoenix fund, are currently supported in the North West region of which one (Train 2000 Ltd.) is Merseyside based. Train 2000 have been awarded 516,757 (revenue support 109,257; capital support 407,500) and to-date have advanced 30 loans, one of which was to a woman entrepreneur within the Crosby constituency.
	Train 2000's principal target group is female entrepreneurs unable to access business finance from conventional sources.
	Train 2000 have been successful in receiving funding from the Phoenix Development Fund as well as from CDFI (Community Development Finance Institutions).
	North West
	Total Support currently committed to NW CDFI's (Community Development Finance Institutions) is 4,844,932 (expected to rise to 6,934,889 after completion of the third process). To date 232 loans has been advanced within the North West region totalling 1,398,725.
	There are no Phoenix Development Fund Projects that focus solely on Crosby, however Crosby will be covered by those projects listed as operating in the whole of Liverpool, Merseyside and the North West. The Phoenix Development Fund Projects, which fall within the North West are as follows.
	
		
		
			 Project Phoenix Development Fund (to March 2004) Phoenix Development fund Building on the Best April 2004-March 2006) City growth Strategies (April 2004-March 2006) City Growth Strategies (April 2004-March 2006) Development Fund for Rural Renewal (to March 2004) Area Covered 
		
		
			 Granby and Toxteth Development Trust 26,988 Granby and Toxteth 
			 Dingle Opportunities 778,783 11 Objective 1 PathwayAreas in Liverpool (nomention of Crosby 
			 Train 2000 225,000 799,000Merseyside 
			 Knowsley MBC 17,483 Knowsley 
			 St. Helens Chamber 471,463 St. Helen's 
			 St. Helens (via North West RDA)   375,000   St. Helen's 
			 Womens Business Network North West 242,520 North West 
			 Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts 254,782 528,000North West 
			 Cats Pyjamas 371,000 Liverpool 
			 Liverpool (via North West RDA)250,000  Liverpool 
			 Manchester (via North West RDA)250,000  Manchester 
			 Other NW 1,470,000814,200 NW outside Merseyside 
		
	
	Included in the above is information about City Growth and Development Fund for Rural Renewal, which comes under the Phoenix fund.

Regeneration (Hampshire)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what analysis underpinned the creation of a priority area for economic regeneration between Portsmouth and Southampton; what the objectives were of establishing this scheme; and to what extent these objectives have been achieved.

Jacqui Smith: The South Hampshire Priority Area for Economic Regeneration is broadly defined in Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9 2001). The area was originally proposed by SERPLAN (the South East Regional Planning Body in 2001) in their draft RPG, and was confirmed by the Panel following a Public Examination in 1999. The report of the panel provides further justification for the designation, but criteria included: above average unemployment levels, high levels of social deprivation, low skill levels, dependence on declining industries, derelict urban fabric, peripherally and insularity.
	Within the South East Regional Planning Guidance the recommendation was that all the areas identified as Priority Areas for Economic Regeneration (PAERs) need tailored regeneration strategies backed up by appropriate resources to address their problems and maximise their contribution to the sustainable development of the region. Designation as a PAER signalled to regional partners, including the Regional Development Agency, that the needs of the area should be given high priority. As such, the South Hampshire Priority Area for Economic Regeneration is not a scheme. The objectives for the area are set out in RPG 9 (2001), in particular Policy RE7 and Chapter 12. The policy calls for local and regional partners to give particular attention to actively supporting economic regeneration and renewal, including inward investment.
	In line with the signals given through designation of the area as a PAER, regional partners, including the South East England Regional Development Agency (SEEDA), have given the area a high priority.
	The Regional Assembly, in partnership with local authorities, is currently assessing whether a sub-regional strategy for the South Hampshire area should be prepared as part of the South East Plan.

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the requirements are on officials in her Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for her departmental officials.

Patricia Hewitt: All members of staff within the Department are required to inform their senior line managers if they have any private business interests which could possibly conflict with their position in the Department or one of its Agencies. Staff are required to carry out any instructions which the Department or Agency gives about the retention or disposal of those business interests.
	Detailed general principles that must be observed in respect of business interests and outside occupations are set out in The Guide available to all staff.
	There is no central register maintained of the interests of individual departmental officials.

Research Funding

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial assistance is available towards collaborative research projects involving business and universities in the field of digital archiving technologies; which projects she (a) has assisted since 2001 and (b) is supporting; and whether her policy is available on a website.

Jacqui Smith: Financial assistance for collaborative research to support such technologies will be available under DTIs Technology programme to be formally announced on 26 April 2004. Assistance up to 75 per cent. for basic, 50 per cent. for applied and 25 per cent. for nearer market research projects will be available for industry to academic collaborations and 50 per cent. 40 per cent. and 25 per cent. respectively for projects involving business to business collaborations. The support will be available for projects that address research into such aspects of digital archiving as: Meta-data, Semantics, Ontologies, Vocabularies and Lexicons. The Innovation Report, which introduces DTI Technology Programme is available from DTIs website www.dti.gov.uk/technologyprogramme. The details for applying to the Technology Programme and a description of the technology priorities covered will be placed on DTI website in early April.
	Since 2001, the Department has provided 1.1 million within the e-Science Core programme to establish the Digital Curation Centre at the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bath and the Central Laboratories of the Research Councils. Details are available through www.nesc.ac.uk, and www.e-science.clrc.ac.uk/web/projects/Data Curation Centre.
	A further 3 million of assistance has been provided to support nine projects in the information storage and display area within the LINK Information Storage and Displays programme.

Self-employment

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to reduce the gap between male and female self-employment rates.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government's Strategic Framework for Women's Enterprise is working through key strategic partners in the regions, in particular, the Regional Development Agencies, the Business Link network and a number of women's enterprise organisations.
	All 45 Business Link operators have women's enterprise as a key delivery theme for their activity.
	We are encouraged by the findings on women's enterprise of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor's most recent report, which states that the levels of female entrepreneurship in the UK rose from around 600,000 in 2002 to around 700,000 in 2003 and that female attitudes to start-up have become far more positive during the last year.

Small Businesses

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken to reduce the barriers to start-up for small businesses.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government are working with its public, private and voluntary sector partners to help start-up businesses to address and overcome early hurdles and barriers to success through the provision of high quality information, advice and support. A range of new actions the Government are undertaking to help start-up businesses to overcome barriers are set out in the A Government action plan for small business, which was published in January 2004.

Small Businesses

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advice her Department offers via Business Link operators to small manufacturing businesses of fewer than 10 employees seeking to improve their internal business practice.

Nigel Griffiths: Business Link operators offer straightforward information on small manufacturing business needs, and access to a wide network of business support organisations. From April advice will be delivered via a new DTI Business Support framework based on four main customer themes. Technology and Innovation, Access to Finance, Achieving Best Practice and Regional Investment. Our goals are to make strategic investments in business support in order to help drive up productivity, to improve delivery of business support and to develop better customer relationships.
	The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) has been highly successful as a source of practical help to manufacturers. The Department is keen for this success to continue. The Department is currently discussing the future development of MAS with the English RDAs and Welsh Development Agency, including the determination of future funding arrangements for MAS post March 2005. We are also discussing with RDAs and other stakeholders how best to ensure that MAS co-ordinates effectively within the new DTI Business Support framework, in particular the Support to implement Best Business Practice product (Product 10) that will be delivered through Business Links from April 2004. With emphasis on SMEs.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Misuse

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what public expenditure there has been by drug action teams on countering the problems caused by alcohol misuse in (a) Taunton and (b) the South West in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The information is not available in the format requested. Drug Action Teams (DATs) are funded to tackle drug misuse via the pooled treatment budget and local monies from Primary Care Trusts and Social Services mainstream funds. Further budgets are also available for prevention activities for young people. Alcohol funds are allocated at a local level and usually cannot be disaggregated from mainstream drugs or mental health expenditure.

Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer of 17 March 2004 Official Report, column 336W, on animal experiments, if he will make it his policy to encourage the formation of a European Union wide animals (scientific procedures) inspectorate.

Caroline Flint: No.
	Article 19(5) of European Directive 86/609/EECon the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposesrequires that establishments licensed to use animals in scientific procedures shall be subject to periodic inspection by representatives of the National Competent Authority.
	Section 18 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, which transposes the Directive into United Kingdom law, provides for the appointment of inspectors to advise on applications for licences and certificates under the Act and to visit places where regulated procedures are carried out to determine whether the conditions of licences and certificates are being complied with.
	The Government are satisfied that the Home Office Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate, as set up under section 18, is highly effective in carrying out its duties and responsibilities. We do not consider that a European Inspectorate would add to, or improve on, what the Home Office Inspectorate already does. Nor do we consider that it would be practicable, given the diverse range of national regulatory systems. The Government are also concerned that the establishment of another tier of inspection, if that is what is being suggested, would place an unnecessary additional administrative burden on the scientific community.
	We understand that this may also be the view emerging from the discussions taking place in the context of the review of European Directive 86/609/EEC currently being undertaken by the European Commission.

Cannabis

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 338W, on cannabis, when he expects to publish the results of the evaluation into the effectiveness of the advertising campaign on the reclassification of cannabis.

Caroline Flint: The final report is currently being collated and it is expected that it will be placed in the Library of the House by early May.

Civil Servants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants, broken down by grade, there are in the Department and the agencies for which the Department is responsible; and what the figures were in January 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 9 February 2004, Official Report, column 1294W.

Civil Servants

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of civil servants in his Department are of Asian origin.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office currently employs 2,739 staff who are known to be of Asian origin. This represents 5.35 per cent. of the 69 per cent. of Home Office staff whose ethnicity is known.

Community Development Exchange

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the members of the Community Development Exchange; how they are appointed, and for how long; and to whom they are accountable.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Community Development Exchange (CDX), is an independent non-governmental organisation that acts as the national membership organisation and voice for community development. The members of CDX are individuals and organisations made up of unpaid and paid practitioners, managers, policy officers and researchers from across the voluntary, community, private and public sectors, in a unique forum.
	It is because of the independent nature of CDX that the Home Office does not hold a list of members; all members apply for membership to CDX and if accepted pay a yearly subscription; they can remain members for as long as they wish, subject to the payment of the annual subscription; and as independent individuals or organisations, CDX members are only accountable to themselves or their respective Boards of Management.

Credit Card Fraud

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers police have to (a) access mobile phone records and (b) liaise with internet service providers in order to track down the physical location and identity of those committing fraud involving transactions of less than 500,000.

Caroline Flint: Under Part 1 Chapter II of Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, police are able to access communications data, including mobile phone records and information held by internet service providers, for the purposes of the prevention and detection of crime irrespective of the financial loss or gain incurred, to the extent that it is necessary and proportionate to do so.

Dalit Community

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been taken since September 2003 to tackle discriminatory practices against the Dalit community in the United Kingdom.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 29 March 2004
	None that I am aware of. I would be willing to consider any evidence-based representations on the need for specific measures, but could not at this stage give an assurance that it would be right to take any.
	The Race Relations Act 1976 protects people from racial discrimination in the fields of employment, education, training, housing and the provision of goods, facilities and services. The provisions of the Act apply equally to all people irrespective of colour, race, nationality and ethnic or national origin.
	The Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 further improved the amended Race Relations Act. The Regulations relate to discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race or ethnic or national origins. It is unlawful to discriminate against another person on any of these grounds in any area covered by the legislation.
	Caste based discrimination would be unlawful under current legislation if it could also be argued that the discrimination was also based on colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins (in the case of employment, education, training, housing, provisions of goods, facilities, services and most other functions of public authorities) or religion (in the case of employment and training).
	We acknowledge that there have been criticisms levelled at the Hindu caste system with regards to the treatment of Dalits. However, it is not the role of Government to take a position on the rites, beliefs or practices of any particular religious faith, other than where these give rise to conflict with the law.

Project Funding

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by (a) the Government on solely state-financed projects and (b) the (i) Government and (ii) private sector on public-private and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information is as follows.
	(a) Information on how much has been spent on major projects is not held centrally and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate costs.
	(b) I would refer my hon. Friend to the Signed PFI Projects List, which can be found on the HM Treasury website www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public private partnerships/ppp pfi stats.
	In addition payments made to the service provider on projects which are classed as public private partnerships are as follows:
	
		
			  Project  
			  Airwave Criminal Records Bureau 
		
		
			 Region National North west 
			 Government spend 50 million 30.6 million 
			 Private sector spend Not available Not available

Recruitment

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of recruitment of civil servants for the Department was in each financial year since 199697, broken down by (a) delegated or contracted out recruitment procedures and (b) recruitment procedures carried out by the Department.

Fiona Mactaggart: Details of the total spend on external recruitment for the central Home Office, including the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), for the years 200001, 200102 and 200203 are shown in the table. Figures for previous years are not available. Final figures for 200304 will not be available until the end of the financial year.
	The costs detailed in the table cover the costs of recruiting staff into the Home Office, including the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (but excluding Home Office Agencies) using external recruitment agencies. The IND figures reflect the extra recruitment in caseworkers to speed up processing times.
	Details of the costs incurred for internal recruitment carried out by the department would be available only at disproportionate cost.
	
		Money spent on external recruitment by the Home Office 200003
		
			  200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 Home Office (not covering immigration and Nationality Directorate or Home Office Agencies) 
			 Total recruitment spend 1,552,682 1,241,786 967,106 
			 Immigration and Nationality Directorate 
			 Total Recruitment spend 3,696,892 2,261,122 3,041,458 
			 Total 5,249,574 3,502,908 4,008,564

Sentencing Statistics

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners on remand were (a) acquitted and (b) given a non-custodial sentence in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion each figure forms of the total prison population in each of these years.

Paul Goggins: The first table gives information relating to the estimated number of prisoners received on remand who were (a) acquitted and (b) given a non-custodial sentence in each of the last 10 years.
	The average annual population of remand prisoners from 1993 to 2002 is given in the second table. It is not possible to calculate the number received on remand who were later acquitted or given a non-custodial sentence as a proportion of the remand population. To do so would require the time served on remand for each of these prisoners which is not available. Secondly, some of the time spent on remand counts towards some, or all, of the sentence served.
	
		Table 1: Final outcome for persons remanded in custody(13) at magistrates courts -- Number of persons (thousand)
		
			 Final outcome 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Acquitted or not proceeded 11.4 13.5 14.4 16.5 21.4 25.2 25.6 23.8 21.7 21.6 
			 Total non-custodial sentence 19.1 20.1 20.7 26.0 27.1 34.7 33.0 29.6 27.8 31.4 
			 Total immediate custody 21.6 25.8 32.4 34.9 38.0 47.1 48.9 46.0 45.9 49.5 
			 Total number sentenced 40.7 45.9 53.1 60.9 65.1 81.8 81.9 75.6 73.7 80.9 
			 Total 52.1 59.5 67.6 77.4 86.5 107.0 107.5 99.4 95.4 102.5 
		
	
	(13) Includes those remanded for part of the time in custody.
	Note:
	Remand status shown is that given by the court.
	
		Table 2: Average population of remand prisoners in custody(14)1993 to 2002
		
			  Annual average 
		
		
			 1993 10,674 
			 1994 12,357 
			 1995 11,375 
			 1996 11,613 
			 1997 12,131 
			 1998 12,568 
			 1999 12,520 
			 2000 11,274 
			 2001 11,238 
			 2002 12,792 
		
	
	(14) Includes prisoners held in police cells in 1993 to 1995.

Speed Cameras

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his definition is of the term minimum conspicuity in relation to speed camera signs.

David Jamieson: holding answer 26 March 2004
	I have been asked to reply.
	The Handbook of rules and guidance for the operation of the national road safety programme for England and Wales, October 2003, a copy of which is in the Library of the House, sets out in detail the standards for signing, marking, visibility and conspicuity of safety cameras.

Substance Misuse

Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total budget allocated to substance misuse programmes for (a) drugs and (b) alcohol is in 200304.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 22 March 2004
	The information is as follows.
	(a) DrugsThe total drug Pooled Treatment Budget for 200304 is 243.6 million. The pooled treatment budget is matched with approximately an additional 200 million of local monies from Primary Care Trust (PCT) and social services mainstream funds. The Pooled Treatment Budget provides funds for drugs only, not alcohol. The Prison Service also allocated 35.8 million for drug treatment programmes in prisons. Further budgets are also available for prevention activities for young people.
	(b) AlcoholAlcohol treatment services are funded from local monies from PCTs and social services mainstream funds.
	Background:
	In terms of drug funding, all Drug Action Teams (DATs) received an average increase of 24 per cent. in 200304.
	The data on mainstream drugs spend are gathered via the DAT Treatment Plans by the National Treatment Agency (NTA).
	Alcohol funds are allocated at a local level and usually cannot be disaggregated from mainstream drugs or mental health expenditure.

DEFENCE

Accommodation Costs

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) service personnel and (b) other Ministry of Defence employees are living in privately rented accommodation in the Greater Portsmouth area; and at what cost to his Department.

Ivor Caplin: Substitute Service Accommodation is provided when there is insufficient Service family housing or single living accommodation of the appropriate type to meet demand in the area. As at 31 March 2004, there are 100 service personnel living in privately rented accommodation in the Portsmouth area at a total cost of 82,000 per month.
	For other Ministry of Defence employees their accommodation requirements are an individual responsibility, although the Department does, in certain circumstances, pay specific allowances to support its civilian staff when they are relocated.

Defence Contractors

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for City of Durham (Mr. Steinberg) of 9 March 2004, Official Report, column 1401W, on defence contractors, what contracts for the supply of equipment have been awarded to RUAG and are currently in operation; what action has been taken to enforce the contract under which supplies were suspended by the Swiss Government during the Iraq war; and for what reason he maintains no records centrally of similar contract breaches by other suppliers to his Department.

Adam Ingram: There are currently three contracts in place with RUAG Ammotech GMBH, a wholly owned business subsidiary of RUAG, for the supply of ammunition and components. No action was taken against the company in respect of deliveries of 40 mm grenades suspended during the hostilities in Iraq, as this recognised the Swiss Government's long standing policy of neutrality. There was no impact of the operational effectiveness of British forces as available stocks were more than adequate to cover the Operation Telic requirements.
	The incidents of similar contract breaches by other suppliers to the Ministry of Defence as a result of action by foreign governments is considered to be so low, that there is considered to be no value in collecting this type of information.

Departmental Buildings

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) renovation and (b) maintenance projects on buildings (i) owned and (ii) rented by his Department were undertaken in each of the last five years; and what the associated costs were of each.

Ivor Caplin: This information is not held centrally. However it will now be collated but may take some time. When I am in a position to do so, I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter the Library of the House.

European Convention on Human Rights

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 20 January 2004, Official Report, column 1123W, when he will write to the hon. Member for Camarthen East and Dinefwr in relation to the extra-territorial applicability of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Iraq

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) deliberate attacks and (b) contact incidents there have been in MND(SE) in Iraq involving UK forces since 17 October 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Between 17 October 2003 and 28 March 2004 there have been some 67 recorded attacks where firearms or explosives have been used against the United Kingdom Forces in MND(SE). These include some 18 improvised explosive devices, some 41 contact shooting incidents, and some eight other attacks involving mortars, rockets, rocket-propelled grenades or grenades.

Iraq

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to record centrally Iraqi casualties reported by UK forces; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: UK forces who witness an incident in which they are not directly involved provide medical assistance if necessary and endeavour to report it to the appropriate authority. However, it is not always possible to confirm whether or how many casualties have occurred during a particular incident. Consequently there is limited utility in central recording since we have no viable means of assessing the completeness of the information.

Iraq

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what savings will be made by discontinuing the free parcel service for service personnel deployed in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: I am not able to quantify precisely the savings, as they depend on force levels and the volumes of mail that families choose to despatch. However, I can say that the cost to the taxpayer of the service since its inception on 17 April 2003 has been between 1.5 million and 2 million. This is in addition to the cost to the Royal Mail Group, who generously provided their services free of charge during the initial three months. I estimate that the cost of providing this service to all personnel on operational deployments would be between 3 million and 9 million per annum. Forces Air Letters (blueys) and their electronic equivalent, the e-bluey will continue to be free of charge. Other airmail items up to 2Kg in weight will be charged at a subsidised rate equivalent to the Royal Mail inland first class tariff.

Joint Force Harrier Study Group

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel, and from which service, were involved in the Joint Force Harrier study group in 2001.

Adam Ingram: The Joint Force Harrier Capability Working Group was attended by representatives from all key stakeholder areas in the Ministry of Defence. The numbers attending meetings of the group varied due to individuals' availability. Both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force were represented.

Mahon Road Base

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on recent personnel changes at Mahon Road army base in Portadown, Northern Ireland.

Adam Ingram: There are currently proposals for a re-organisation of Army brigade headquarters in Northern Ireland with a change from three to two operational brigade headquarters. Such a move is a natural progression after the Police Service for Northern Ireland changed from three to two regions last year and would provide a more effective and efficient command structure. This proposal is currently the subject of consultation with the Trade Unions and other interested parties.
	If we proceed with this proposal it will mean the disbandment of Headquarters 3 Infantry Brigade which is currently situated in Mahon Road Barracks. Such a re-organisation will not reduce the current level of support which the armed forces provide to the PSNI, indeed the aim is to provide this support more efficiently. Neither will it result in any significant reduction in the number of soldiers or units deployed to Northern Ireland.

Medical Services

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the standard of medical care available to (a) service personnel and (b) departmental civilian personnel serving in the Vale of York.

Ivor Caplin: Medical care is provided to Service personnel by the Defence Medical Services to standards at least equal to the National Health Service (NHS). Civilian personnel would receive health service through the local NHS provider.

MOD Properties

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence properties in the Greater Portsmouth area have been released to (a) Annington Homes and (b) others in each year since 1996; and what projections he has made for further such releases in each of the next five years.

Ivor Caplin: Since the 1996 Annington Sale Agreement and up to 31 March 2004, 922 underleased properties with a PO (Portsmouth) postcode have been handed back to Annington Homes Ltd., as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 154 
			 1998 197 
			 1999 21 
			 2000 70 
			 2001 241 
			 2002 218 
			 2003 20 
			 2004 1 
		
	
	No other disposal of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) has taken place in the area.
	Future projections are limited to the next three financial years, and as at 31 March 2004, 273 MOD properties have been identified by the Defence Housing Executive (DHE) in the Portsmouth postcode area for which there is unlikely to be a long-term requirement:
	
		
			 Financial year Number 
		
		
			 200405 46 
			 200506 47 
			 200607 180 
		
	
	The 46 properties in financial year 200405 are planned for release to Annington Homes during 2004. Those in other years will be subject to review by the services.

MOD Properties

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has realised in capital receipts through the release of Ministry of Defence housing in the Greater Portsmouth area in each year since 1996.

Ivor Caplin: All the service family housing in the Portsmouth area was purchased by Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) in 1996. Capital receipts do not accrue to MOD from sales of surplus quarters by AHL, but the Government receives a proportion of the profits under the profit share agreement included in the 1996 sale agreement. Profit share from the sale of the 12,000 properties released through AHL since 1996 has amounted to 96 million. The amounts paid in respect of the Portsmouth releases could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

MOD Properties

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many properties in the Greater Portsmouth area Annington Homes has returned to (a) his Department and (b) the open market in each year since 1996.

Ivor Caplin: The information is as follows.
	(a) No former service family housing has been returned to MOD by Annington since 1996.
	(b) When MOD hands back properties to Annington, it is Annington's decision whether to rent them out, release them onto the open market, or sell them to developers or social housing providers. The Department is not involved in this process and is not in a position to quote figures.

MOD Properties

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many properties his Department has obtained in the Greater Portsmouth area for housing purposes in each year since 1996; at what cost and from which source; and what targets have been set for further such acquisitions in each of the next five years.

Ivor Caplin: The Defence Housing Executive's Bristol Bath and Portsmouth PFI project includes 51 houses at Seafield Park, Fareham. Of these, 28 were completed in financial year 200203 and 23 in 200304. These are the only properties acquired in the Portsmouth area since 1996.

Opinion Sampling

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of total expenditure by his Department on (a) focus groups and (b) opinion polls in each year from 199596 to 200304; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Government want to hear what people have to say about proposed new policies and ideas and are committed to obtaining the best value for money. Public opinion research, including focus groups and polling, is subject to the usual strict rules that spending must represent good value for the taxpayer and must not be used for party political purposes. Research is widely used to inform the development, delivery and evaluation of policy.
	Information on the totality of quantitative and qualitative surveys carried out by the Ministry of Defence and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Personnel Numbers

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the average number was of (a) military and (b) civilian full-time staff or equivalent employed in financial year 200203 by the (i) Fleet, (ii) General Officer Commanding (Northern Ireland), (iii) Field Army (Theatre Troops), (iv) 1 (UK) Armoured Division, (v) 2nd Division, (vi) UK Support Command (Germany), (vii) 3rd Division, (viii) Joint Helicopter Command, (ix) 4th Division, (x) Land Support and (xi) 5th Division management groups;
	(2)  what the average number was of (a) military and (b) civilian full-time staff or equivalent employed in financial year 200203 by the (i) 1 Group, (ii) 3 Group 2 Group, (iii) Deputy Commander-in-Chief, (iv) British Forces Cyprus, (v) British Forces Gibraltar, (vi) Permanent Joint Headquarters, (vii) Sovereign Base Areas Administration and (viii) British Forces Falkland Islands management groups;
	(3)  what the average number was of (a) military and (b) civilian full-time staff or equivalent employed in financial year 200203 by the (i) Personnel Management Agency, (ii) Core HQ, (iii) Training Group Defence Agency, (iv) Internal Costs, (v) Programme Account and (vi) Nuclear management groups;
	(4)  what the average number was of (a) military and (b) civilian full-time staff or equivalent employed in financial year 200203 by the (i) Flag Officer Training and Recruiting, (ii) HQ, (iii) Naval Secretary, (iv) Army Personnel Centre, (v) Adjutant General, (vi) Army Training and Recruiting Agency, (vii) Army Programme, (viii) Service Children's Education and (ix) General Staff management groups;
	(5)  what the average number was of (a) military and (b) civilian full-time staff or equivalent employed in financial year 200203 by the (i) Defence Fuels Group, (ii) Dep. Chief of Defence Logistics, (iii) Defence Communication Services Agency, (iv) Defence Logistics Support HQ, (v) Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency, (vi) DG Equipment Support (Land), (vii) Warship Support Agency, (viii) DG Equipment Support (Air), (ix) Defence Storage and Distribution Agency, (x) Director Land Service Ammunition, (xi) Defence Transport and Movements Agency and (xii) British Forces Post Office management groups;
	(6)  what the average number was of (a) military and (b) civilian full-time staff or equivalent employed in financial year 200203 by the (i) Personnel Director, (ii) War Pensions Agency, (iii) Pay and Personnel Agency, (iv) Surgeon General, (v) Defence Vetting Agency, (vi) Dep. Chief Defence Staff (Personnel), (vii) Defence Export Services Organisation, (viii) Defence Secondary Care Agency, (ix) Finance Director, (x) Defence Dental Agency, (xi) Defence Analytical Services Agency, (xii) Defence Housing Executive, (xiii) Defence Bills Agency, (xiv) Defence Medical Training Org, (xv) Chief Constable MOD Police, (xvi) Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency, (xvii) Chief Scientific Adviser, (xviii) Defence Estates, (xix) Policy Director, (xx) Deputy Chief Defence Staff (Commitments), (xxi) Deputy Chief Defence Staff (Equipment Capability), (xxii) Director Special Forces, (xxiii) Chief of Defence Intelligence, (xxiv) Defence Geographic and Imaging Intelligence Agency and (xxv) Defence Intelligence and Security Centre management groups.

Ivor Caplin: There has been a delay in providing this statistical information. I hope to be able to respond in detail soon and I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Public Private Partnerships (Specialist Reviews)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is his policy to require (a) the public sector comparator and (b) other commercial bids to undertake a public private partnership, to be subject to an independent specialist review to test their manpower and financial assumptions.

Adam Ingram: All major spending projects including all Public Private Partnerships are subject to independent review by the Ministry of Defence scrutineers supporting the Department's Investment Approvals Board. In some cases Her Majesty's Treasury will also scrutinise bids. Certain commercial bids are referred to external advisers for specialist advice.

Royal Irish Regiment (3rd Battalion)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for the Third Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment to be (a) disbanded and (b) incorporated into other battalions; and whether it will remain fully operational after April 2005.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to my response to her question which I answered on 23 June 2003, Official Report, column 544W.

Works Projects

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the proposed highway works in Northumberland, pursuant to project 4374.

Ivor Caplin: The highway works are on the A696 (T) and are in support of the infrastructure developments at the Otterburn Training Area to accommodate live firing of AS90 and multiple launch rocket system.
	The works include nine traffic lay-by holding areas for use during the management of convoy movements. The works were undertaken on behalf of the MOD by the Highways Agency and are virtually complete.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carbon Monoxide

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that householders (a) obtain and (b) use certified carbon monoxide detectors.

Des Browne: Carbon monoxide alarms conforming to the relevant British Standards are a useful back-up precaution for householders, but should not be regarded as a substitute for proper installation and maintenance of gas equipment by a competent installer registered with Council for Registered Gas Installers (CORGI).
	In the meantime recommendation of CO alarms as a secondary line of defence has been included in the latest HSE guidance on gas safety and HSE is co-operating with industry on research to resolve questions around long-term reliability.

Gas Appliance Safety

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with gas suppliers on (a) the need for regular gas checks and (b) the efficient operations of gas appliances in the domestic setting;
	(2)  if he will convene a meeting at the earliest opportunity with the gas supply industry, the Health and Safety Executive and other relevant agencies to plan a national campaign to address the dangers of carbon monoxide poison from domestic gas appliances.

Des Browne: Officials from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have already met with representatives from the gas supply industry, who are currently developing a strategy for future national gas safety awareness campaigns. The industry players have committed to produce an agreed strategy for implementation in time for autumn 2004.
	This is in addition to existing measures to promote awareness of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. These measures include the annual winter gas safety awareness campaign overseen by HSE, which this year targeted particularly vulnerable groups, such as students and other first-time renters, elderly people and parents of young children.
	HSE's domestic gas safety website contains information on the causes and symptoms of CO, and what to do if poisoning is suspected. HSE produces free leaflets on gas safety both for general consumers and landlords, including information on CO, in 12 community languages as well as English.
	It also operates a Gas Safety Advice line providing free advice to callers. Additionally, where possible, HSE officials participate from time to time in awareness-raising events run by other organisations, such as local community groups.

Gas Appliance Safety

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will introduce a statutory requirement for all homes to have their gas appliances checked on a regular basis.

Des Browne: Residential landlords are already required by law at all times to maintain, in a safe condition, the gas appliances in their rental properties, and to carry out a gas safety check on an annual basis. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also strongly recommends that owner-occupiers put in place a regular servicing and maintenance routine for their gas appliances. However, when the question of introducing mandatory safety checks was examined by the Health and Safety Commission in 2000, the Commission concluded that such an approach would be difficult to justify on both cost and practicality grounds. The recommendation of their Review was that efforts should instead be focused on further publicity and guidance in order to raise awareness of the need for all gas appliances to be regularly checked for safety and services in accordance with manufacturers' instructions. I fully support this position.

Gas Appliance Safety

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many prosecutions there have been in each of the last 10 years of landlords whose neglect of gas appliances caused the death of their tenants.

Andrew Smith: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.
	
		The number of prosecutions of landlords instituted by HSE, -- following a death: 199697 to 200203
		
			  Number of cases Number of information laid 
		
		
			 199798 5 14 
			 199899 3 22 
			 19992000 5 6 
			 200001 3 25 
			 200102 1 24 
			 200203 (provisional figures) 0 0 
		
	
	Source:
	Health and Safety Executive, Safety and Enforcement Statistics.
	Each case relates to an individual landlord against whom one or more informations may have been laid; for example, a landlord may be prosecuted for failure to maintain gas appliances at a number of different properties

Workplace Safety

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many workplace transport (a) deaths and (b) accidents there were in each year since 1997.

Andrew Smith: The information in the table gives the numbers of injuries involving workplace transport in all industries except for mines, railways and offshore where the types of transport are very specific to those industries. The injury figures are those relating to an absence of more than three days from work.
	The definition of workplace transport in the table includes people: being struck by a vehicle; falling from a vehicle; being hit by materials falling from a vehicle and injured in a collapse/overturn of a vehicle.
	The numbers of workplace transport injuries available at this level of detail are readily available from 199899 onwards. They include accidents to employees, to the self-employed and members of the public killed and injured by workplace transport. These figures exclude work related Road Traffic Accidents.
	
		The number of injuries involving workplace transport, as reported to HSE and local authorities, 199899 to 200203
		
			  Fatal injuries Non fatal injuries 
		
		
			 199899 67 7,590 
			 19992000 54 8,075 
			 200001 95 7,597 
			 200102 53 5,224 
			 200203 (provisional) 57 5,107 
			 Total 326 33,593

Amanda Bufferey

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will intervene to ensure the Child Support Agency (CSA) deal immediately with the case of Amanda Bufferey, CSA reference 326728861475.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Michael Foster, dated 1 April 2004
	In replying to your recent Parliament question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will intervene to ensure the Child Support Agency (CSA) deal immediately with the case of Amanda Buffery, CSA reference 326728861475.
	As individual cases are confidential, I have written to you today about Ms Buffery's case.

Benefit Payments

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) new and (b) existing benefit payments have been transferred to (i) bank accounts and (ii) Post Office Card Accounts in 2003, broken down by region; and what percentage of (A) new and (B) transferred benefit payments this represents in each case.

Chris Pond: The number and percentage of new benefit payments, broken down by region, then bank or building society and Post Office Card Account methods of payment is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 GovernmentOfficeRegion Number of payments paid into a Bank or Building Society Account Percentage of payments paid into a Banker Building Society Account Number of payments paid into Post Office Card Account Percentage of payments paid into a Post Office Card Account 
		
		
			 North East 14,145 55.98 730 2.89 
			 North West 35,275 58.23 1,425 2.35 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 25,595 60.57 1,010 2.39 
			 East Midlands 20,580 64.91 750 2.37 
			 West Midlands 28,405 63.09 1,115 2.48 
			 East of England 26,510 69.53 640 1.68 
			 London 30,870 62.57 1,045 2.12 
			 South East 34,230 70.62 730 1.51 
			 South West 22,570 65.97 670 1.96 
			 Wales 16,170 56.96 680 2.40 
			 Scotland 27,220 56.79 1,110 2.32 
			 Total 281,570 62.39 9,905 2.19 
		
	
	The number and percentage of transferred benefit payments, broken down by region, then bank or building society and Post Office Card Account methods of payment (of the new payment):
	
		
			 GovernmentOfficeRegion Number of payments paid into a Bank or Building Society Account Percentage of payments paid into a Bank or Building Society Account Number of payments paid into Post Office Card Accounts Percentage of payments paid into a Post Office Card Account 
		
		
			 North East 20,850 60.06 11,390 32.81 
			 North West 45,625 63.25 20,070 27.82 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 31,885 64.15 14,340 28.85 
			 East Midlands 25,655 66.87 10,565 27.54 
			 West Midlands 32,030 64.48 14,425 29.04 
			 East of England 25,780 70.44 8,475 23.16 
			 London 31,045 69.57 8,840 19.81 
			 South East 33,660 72.84 9,415 20.37 
			 South West 22,400 65.73 9,195 26.98 
			 Wales 19,195 66.57 6,605 22.91 
			 Scotland 32,415 65.48 12,950 26.16 
			 Total 320,540 66.17 126,270 26.07 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures produced by comparing two snapshots of live accounts in payment at 27 December 2003 and 24 January 2004.
	2. Figures refer to accounts not claimants. Therefore, if a benefit recipient was in receipt of two benefits via different accounts, these would both be included in these figures, but if a claimant received multiple benefits through one account then this would only be counted once.
	3. Figures refer to GB benefit recipients only.
	4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
	5. Some payments made into Bank and Building Society accounts allow access to cash, at Post Office branches.
	The statistics represent accounts paid by each method of payment. As many customers have already provided their account details it is expected that the figures for Direct Payment into bank or building society accounts and Post Office Card Accounts will quickly rise, as customers existing methods of payment expire, and they move over to payment being made direct into their nominated account.
	The statistical information detailed in this response has been obtained from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Information Centre, Information and Analysis Directorate.

Child Support Agency

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  on what date the Child Support Agency EDS (Plain Version) Plan will be available;
	(2)  what progress has been made in resolving the failings of the new Child Support Agency computer systems; and what timescale has been set for the problems to be resolved.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Mike Isaac to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 1 April 2004
	In replying to your recent Parliamentary questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently on leave I am replying on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date the Child Support Agency EDS (Plain Version) Plan will be available and what progress has been made in resolving the failings of the new computer systems; and what timescale has been set for the problems to be resolved.
	We now have a plan from EDS in plain English. We are using that as a basis for establishing our own plans covering exactly what needs to be done and by when.
	It is not yet possible to provide a definitive timescale within which all known problems with the computer and telephony service will be resolved. I will continue to monitor this carefully and make regular reports to the Secretary of State on progress. As you are aware, reports have been made available in the House of Commons Library on 16 July, 18 November 2003 and 12 February 2004.

Child Support Agency

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the current timescale is for a manual payment to be made to a parent with care once the Child Support Agency has identified that the case is a new system failure; and how much money has been received from non-resident parents and not yet paid to parents with care under the new system.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 1 April 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the current timescale is for a manual payment to be made to a parent with care once the Child Support Agency has identified that the case is a new system failure; and how much money has been received from non-resident parents and not yet paid to parents with care under the new system.
	As at 31 January we had received maintenance payments on the new computer system totalling 18.9 million, in addition to this amount we received 7.1 million that was due to be paid to the Secretary of State. For the same period we made payments to parents with care totalling 18.5 million. At any point in time we will be holding receipts, which are awaiting assignment to a parent with care's account. As at 31 January, 368,868 was awaiting assignment to parents with care whose cases are on the new computer system.
	When we identify that the computer cannot make a payment automatically, the case is referred to a specialist team. The average delay in making a manual payment is 10 working days; we are currently issuing around 150 payments each week.

Child Support Agency

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incidents of non-payment of money received from the non-resident parent to the parent with care owing to software failure there have been under the new Child Support Agency system for (a) new straightforward cases and (b) migrated cases.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 1 April 2004
	In replying to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many incidents of non-payment of money received from the non-resident parent to the parent with care owing to software failure there have been under the new system for (a) new straightforward cases and (b) migrated cases.
	The information that you seek is unavailable. However I can tell you that between August 2003 and February 2004 the new computer system generated over 346,000 payments to a parent with care representing moneys paid to us by the non-resident parent. In the same period just over 1,700 payments were issued manually.

Child Support Agency

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the planned date is by which all Child Support Agency maintenance assessments calculated under the old system will have been transferred to the new system.

Chris Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 1092W.

Child Support Agency

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what performance measures are in place for Child Support Agency caseworkers in English regions; what the most recent performance delivery against these measures was; and how many caseworkers in Yorkshire have been disciplined for poor service provision in the last three years.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	Letter from Mike Isaac to Mr. John Trickett, dated 1 April 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently on leave I am replying on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what performance measures are in place for Child Support Agency caseworkers in English regions; what the most recent performance delivery against these measures was; and how many caseworkers in Yorkshire have been disciplined for poor service provision in the last three years.
	The Agency adopts a consistent set of performance measures across Great Britain. These are set out and published in the Agency's Business Plan. The plan for 2003/04 was placed in the library of the House of Commons on 29 April 2003. Reports on Agency performance during the course of the current year have also been placed in the library of the House of Commons on 16 July, 18 November 2003 and 12 February 2004. Information with regard to the number of caseworkers in Yorkshire that have been disciplined for poor service provision is not routinely collected and is therefore unavailable.

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list each of his Department's performance targets for the (a) old and (b) new Child Support Agency scheme; and what the latest performance against each of those targets is.

Chris Pond: holding answer 22 March 2004
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 1 April 2004
	In replying to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list each of his Department's performance targets for the (a) old and (b) Child Support Agency scheme; and what the latest performance against each of those targets is.
	The performance targets for 2003/04 are set out and published in the Agency's Business Plan for that year. This was placed in the Library of the House of Commons on 29 April 2003. I have attached a copy of this section of the plan.
	The Secretary of State issued a Written Statement on progress in the new scheme performance on 12 February 2004. A report of the Agency's performance for the year 2003/04 will be included in the Annual Report and Accounts, which will be published in June.
	
		Child Support Agency: Performance against targets as at February 2004 -- Percentage
		
			  Target Agency 
		
		
			 Secretary of State TargetsOld Scheme  
			 The overall proportion of cases to achieve Full Maintenance Assessment to be 33 per cent. on old scheme cases. 33.0 22.6 
			
			 Secretary of State TargetsNew Scheme  
			 The overall proportion of cases to achieve Full Maintenance Assessment to be 53 per cent. on new scheme cases. 53.0 60 
			 The accuracy on the last decision for all assessments checked in the year to be correct to the nearest penny in at least 90 per cent. of cases. 90.0 86.4 
			 Case Compliance 78 Not known 
			 Cash Compliance 75 Not known 
			 Throughput of cases from application to payment arrangement 6 weeks Not known 
		
	
	Throughput and Case and Cash Compliance
	Issues with the new computer's management information systems, mean that we are unable to provide reliable performance figures at present. We are working to resolve the problems and expect to have a solution shortly.
	Customer Perception
	The aim of this target is to focus on how the service provided by the Agency is perceived by those who use it. A qualitative study has been commissioned to look at the experiences and views of new customers whose only involvement will have been with the new scheme. The results of this will be used to establish a baseline from which a customer perception target will be developed. The Agency is now committed to publishing a milestone target in the Business Plan for 2004/05 leading to a published target in 2005/06.
	Unit Cost/Productivity
	The Agency published an internal unit cost target in the 200304 business plan. This target was based on Agency staff cost and the number of cases on the live load. The target for 200304 was 184 per case. Our performance in the year to date is within 10 of the target figure.
	Debt
	Our target is to introduce an internal target for this year and a Secretary of State target for 2004/05. Work continues on the development of the format of the Secretary of State target for 2004/05.

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the percentage of Child Support Agency cases that are active on the (a) old and (b) new system; and if he will estimate what the percentages for each of the next 10 years would be if the new child support system continues to take on only new and linked cases.

Chris Pond: holding answer 26 March 2004
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Webb, dated 1 April 2004
	In replying to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of state promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the percentage of Child Support Agency cases that are active on the (a) old and (b) new system; and if he will estimate what the percentages for each of the next 10 years would be if the new child support system continues to take on only new and linked cases.
	At 31 December the Agency held over 1 million cases within its systems. At that date 24% of active cases were held on the new computer system and 76% of active cases were held on the old system. I am unable to estimate what the percentages are for the next 10 years, nevertheless if the current rate of transfer continues I estimate that by 30 September the balance will be around 33% on the new system and around 67% on the old.

Child Support Agency

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether reassessments of pre-2003 Child Support Agency clients transferred to the post-2003 assessment system will apply retrospectively.

Chris Pond: No. Old scheme cases will transfer to the new scheme on a date which has yet to be decided. We will make a decision once we are sure the new arrangements are working well. Some cases have converted early where they are linked to a new scheme case.

Child Support Agency

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to know when the existing child support cases on the old system of assessment will be transferred to the new system of assessment.

Chris Pond: The Child Support Agency now has a recovery plan from EDS (the IT supplier). The agency will use that IT recovery plan as a basis for establishing how this meets the needs of the business.
	It is not yet possible to provide a time scale for when cases on the old scheme will be transferred to the new one.

Child Support Agency

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for child maintenance have not been paid in each of the last five years owing to the Child Support Agency being unable to find the correct address of the absentee parent.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Simon Thomas, dated 1 April 2004
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims of child maintenance have not been paid in each of the last five years owing to the Child Support Agency being unable to find the correct address of the absentee parent.
	I'm sorry that this information is not available. It is not information that we have been routinely required to collect.

Child Support Agency

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what system is being used to decide the order of priority whereby old rules child support cases are transferred to the new rules.

Chris Pond: I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Answer I gave the hon. Member for Dartford (Dr. Stoate) on 27 January 2004, Official Report, column 341W.

Civil Servants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many civil servants, broken down by grade, there are in the Department and the agencies for which the Department is responsible; and what the figures were in January 1997.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was formed in June 2001 from the former Department of Social Security (DSS) and Employment Service (ES).
	Information on the number of staff in DWP at 3.1 January 2004, as in DSS at 1 January 1997, broken down by grade, is in the table. Information by grade in 1997 is not available for ES. However, the total number of staff employed by ES at 1 April 1997 was 34,174.
	
		
			  1 January 2004 (Department for Work and Pensions) 31 January 1997 (Department of Social Security) 
		
		
			 SCS 228 108 
			 Grade 6 445 406 
			 Grade 7 1,197 671 
			 SEO 2,707 1,148 
			 HEO 7,982 4,501 
			 EO 41,514 23,864 
			 AO 60,922 49,502 
			 AA 10,056 13,992 
			 Others  159 
			 Total 125,051 94,351 
		
	
	Notes:
	Staff numbers are Whole-time Equivalent (WTE) rounded and are consistent with
	Cabinet Office definitions other than the inclusion of staff on paid maternity leave.
	Source:
	Departmental personnel records.

Construction Industry

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures his Department has taken to promote Local Labour in Construction in the (a) public and (b) private sector; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: This Department is promoting local labour in construction through Framework for Regional Employment and Skills Action (FRESAs) and more specifically our Ambition: Construction pilots.
	Since October 2002 each English region has had in place its Framework for Regional Employment and Skills Action (FRESAs). FRESAs aim to maintain and improve regional labour markets by co-ordinating strategy for employment and skills in each region, and ensuring a more efficient and co-ordinated service for employers and individuals alike. The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) were asked to lead in the development of FRESAs by DWP, with DfES and DTI. The strategic partners taking forward FRESAs include Government Offices, Jobcentre Plus, the CBI, the TUC, the Learning and Skills Council and local authorities.
	Ambition is unique among UK welfare-to-work programmes in terms of the degree to which employers are involved in design and delivery. By meeting the precise entry requirements of employers, Ambition can open up well-paid jobs with career potential to unemployed and disadvantaged jobseekers, while at the same time offering a high-quality recruitment service to employers and helping them to address skill shortages.
	Ambition pilots are working with employers at central and local levels. Centrally, a steering group of business leaders from the construction sector oversees the project and reports progress to Ministers. Locally, Jobcentre Plus and contracted training providers engage local employers in the design of the programme and work with them to identify and meet their recruitment needs.
	Ambition: Construction pilots are operating in seven locations: Paddington, Nottingham, Leeds, Coventry, Manchester, Merseyside and Aberdeen, with two further pilots in Edinburgh, and the Forth Valley starting in April 2004.

Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer question reference 148968, tabled by the hon. Member for Northavon on 15 January 2004.

Chris Pond: holding answer 23 March 2004
	An answer was given to the hon. Member today.

Department-Sponsored Programmes

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding has been allocated to (a) action teams for jobs, (b) employment zones, (c) neighbourhood nurseries, (d) StepUp and (e) Sure Start in (i) 200405, (ii) 200506 and (iii) total.

Andrew Smith: The information is in the following table.
	
		Programme funding --  million
		
			 Programme Total to 200304 200405(15) 200506(15) 
		
		
			 Action Teams for Jobs (15)181.5 58 58 
			 Employment Zones (16)336.5 92 (18)101 
			 Neighbourhood Nurseries (16)104 95 54 
			 StepUp (16)19.6 10 1 
			 Sure Start(17) (16)752 463 507 
		
	
	(15) Allocation figures including Employment and Transport Projects Funds.
	(16) Includes spend to date and forecast outturn for 200304.
	(17) Figures for the 500 plus Sure Start Local Programmes across England.
	(18) Anticipated allocation.
	Source:
	DfES Sure Start Unit, Jobcentre Plus Finance and DWP Programme Divisions.

Departmental Buildings/Contracts

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) renovation and (b) maintenance projects on buildings (i) owned and (ii) rented by his Department were undertaken in each of the last five years; and what the associated costs were of each.

Maria Eagle: This department occupies approximately 1,800 buildings. The information in the format requested is not available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Ethnic Minority Outreach

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value is of the contracts awarded to (a) At Work (Talent) North London and (b) Reed in Partnership in North London in connection with the Ethnic Minority Outreach Programme; what targets were agreed when the contracts were awarded; and how many people (i) have been helped into work and (ii) have achieved other job outcomes as a result of those contracts, broken down by ethnic background.

Maria Eagle: The Ethnic Minority Outreach service, launched in April 2002, was introduced to engage with jobless ethnic minority people who were not regular users of Jobcentre Plus services, and help them compete more effectively in the labour market.
	Targets were agreed with providers for a range of outcomes including job entries and work related training. Contracts and targets vary according to the particular barriers faced by the local ethnic minority community and the type of provision supplied.
	At Work (Talent) North London and Reed in Partnership North London have been awarded contracts to the value of 240,970 and 294,850 respectively to deliver Ethnic Minority Outreach provision over the period April 2002 to March 2004.
	Information on numbers helped into work through the Ethnic Minority Outreach service provided by At Work (Talent) North London and Reed in Partnership in North London, broken down by ethnic background, is in the table.
	
		Job entries through Ethnic Minority Outreach provision(19)
		
			 Ethnic background At Work (Talent) North London Reed in Partnership North London 
		
		
			 Not disclosed 5 12 
			 British 5 5 
			 Irish 5 5 
			 Other White 18 5 
			 White and Black Caribbean 6 5 
			 White and Black African 9 5 
			 White and Asian 5 5 
			 Other Mixed 5 5 
			 Indian 8 5 
			 Pakistani 10 5 
			 Bangladeshi 7 5 
			 Other Asian 7 5 
			 Black Caribbean 38 39 
			 Black African 52 102 
			 Other Black 10 5 
			 Chinese 5 5 
			 Other ethnic group 5 5 
			 Total 181 169 
		
	
	(19) All information is to the end of February 2004. Where 5 is indicated, less than five customers from these backgrounds gained jobs. The exact figure is not given to preserve customer anonymity. Job entries through Ethnic Minority Outreach.
	Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions.
	Minority Ethnic Outreach targets for At Work (Talent) North London and Reed in Partnership in North London are in the table.
	
		
			 Target At Work (Talent) North London Reed in Partnership North London 
		
		
			 Registration with Jobcentre Plus 160 155 
			 Starts on New Deal 160 60 
			 Completion of New Deal 120 40 
			 Job Outcomes 291 140 
			 Registration with Talent Intermediary Service 800 Not applicable 
			 Engagement with employers to promote the benefits of diversity 182 Not applicable 
		
	
	Source
	Department for Work and Pensions

Ethnic Minority Outreach

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action he is taking to increase the number of ethnic minority employees within his Department.

Maria Eagle: The latest figures for February 2004 show that the Department now employs 7.5 per cent. staff from an ethnic minority against the figure of 6.8 per cent. for the UK's economically active population.
	Several initiatives are in place to help us to increase further the proportion of our staff from ethnic backgrounds, these include a new recruitment system introduced in December 2002 which is designed to be inclusive, increasing external recruitment into the Senior Civil Service to give us benefits from a wider range of candidates, development of a checklist of recruitment best practice which will enable recruitment at all grades from the widest possible pool, and a pilot of new methods of recruitment to our non-departmental public bodies. This will be based on outreach, marketing and support for applicants.

Departmental Expenditure (Sittingbourne and Sheppey)

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the expenditure of his Department and its predecessors for the constituency of Sittingbourne and Sheppey was between (a) 1992 and 1997, (b) 1997 and 2001 and (c) 2001 and 2004.

Des Browne: This information is not currently available in the form requested and could not be assembled without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Policies (Older People)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what (a) initiatives, (b) campaigns and (c) advisory bodies relating to older people his Department (i) is responsible and (ii) has provided funding since 2001; and what the cost in each year was for each one.

Malcolm Wicks: The information has been placed in the Library.

Direct Payments

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were eligible for direct payments in Scotland in (a) 200001, (b) 200102 and (c) 200203, broken down by local authority area.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested. The information in the table gives the number of benefit and pension accounts paid by Direct Payment in December 2002 and December 2003. The number of accounts paid by Direct Payment in each Scottish local authority is shown as a percentage of the overall total of accounts paid by Direct Payment in Scotland.
	
		
			  December 2002 December 2003 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage 
		
		
			 Total benefit or Pension accounts in Scotland paid by Direct Payment 923,120 100 1,296,750 100 
			 Aberdeen City 39,120 4.24 51,155 3.94 
			 Aberdeenshire 43,120 4.67 58,705 4.53 
			 Angus 22,790 2.47 30,975 2.39 
			 Argyll and Bute 18,980 2.06 24,675 1.90 
			 The Scottish Borders 22,835 2.47 30,600 2.36 
			 Clackmannanshire 8,945 0.97 12,835 0.99 
			 West Dumbartonshire 14,960 1.62 23,800 1.84 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 30,640 3.32 41,865 3.23 
			 Dundee City 25,055 2.71 35,340 2.73 
			 East Ayrshire 21,045 2.28 30,670 2.37 
			 East Dumbartonshire 24,680 2.67 31,325 2.42 
			 East Lothian 18,575 2.01 24,610 1.90 
			 East Renfrewshire 20,695 2.24 26,245 2.02 
			 City of Edinburgh 82,750 8.96 104,860 8.09 
			 Falkirk 25,830 2.80 36,595 2.82 
			 Fife 65,440 7.09 92,960 7.17 
			 Glasgow City 79,600 8.62 133,390 10.29 
			 Highland 43,470 4.71 59,210 4.57 
			 Inverclyde 13,865 1.50 20,605 1.59 
			 Midlothian 15,400 1.67 21,435 1.65 
			 Moray 16,560 1.79 22,630 1.75 
			 North Ayrshire 24,970 2.70 36,470 2.81 
			 North Lanarkshire 46,805 5.07 74,440 5.74 
			 Orkney Islands 3,695 0.40 5,060 0.39 
			 Perth and Kinross 30,350 3.29 38,810 2.99 
			 Renfrewshire 31,760 3.44 44,030 3.40 
			 Shetland Isles 3,905 0.42 5,380 0.41 
			 South Ayrshire 24,445 2.65 32,400 2.50 
			 South Lanarkshire 54,315 5.88 77,715 5.99 
			 Stirling 17,165 1.86 22,180 1.71 
			 West Lothian 27,030 2.93 39,380 3.04 
			 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 4,330 0.47 6,405 0.49 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures refer to a snapshot of live accounts in payment on 24 January 2004
	and 25 January 2003.
	2. The people eligible for Direct Payment are those who have an account suitable for receiving direct payment and who have an agreement with the Secretary of State that they want their benefit or pension made by this method. The figures above are of those people who have taken up the option of receiving their benefit or pension this way.
	3. The figures relate to payments administered by Department of Work and Pensions only. They do not include Child Benefit accounts which are the responsibility of Inland Revenue or War Pension accounts are now the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence
	4. The figures above are rounded to the nearest five, totals may not sum due to roundings
	Source:
	DWP Information Centre, Information and Analysis Directorate (100 per cent. data).

E-business Strategy

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to produce his Department's e-business strategy.

Des Browne: Making services available online is an intrinsic part of DWP's business strategy, not a free-standing activity. It is therefore no longer appropriate to publish a separate e- business strategy. Details of DWP's approach to customer service delivery can be found in the business plans of each of the main delivery businesses, copies of which are on the Department's websites and in the Library.

Employment Agencies

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the employment agencies which his Department and its predecessors have used to supply temporary staff in each financial year since 199697 to the most recent date for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The Department's use of agencies to supply temporary staff is limited, temporary vacancies are normally notified to, and filled by, Jobcentre Plus Offices. The information requested is not held centrally and where available would only go back to 2001/02, due to the length of time the Department is required to keep recruitment information. Obtaining any information would be at disproportionate cost.

Endometriosis

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how much (a) Disability Living Allowance and (b) (i) short-term and (ii) long-term Incapacity Benefit was paid out in England and Wales as a result of (A) chronic pelvic pain and (B) endometriosis in each year since 200001, broken down by region;
	(2)  how many individuals in England and Wales were receiving Disability Living Allowance as a result of endometriosis in each year since 200001, broken down by region.

Maria Eagle: There is no data available to answer the question (a) on Disability Living Allowance nor the question on Disability Allowance contained in PQ 163136. The items on Incapacity Benefit for which answers can be provided are contained in the table.
	
		Great Britain --  million
		
			  200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 Incapacity Benefit short-term
			 Endometriosis 0.1 0.4 0.1 
			 Abdominal and Pelvic Pain 3 3 3 
			 
			 Incapacity Benefit long-term
			 Endometriosis 2 2 2 
			 
			 Abdominal and pelvic pain
			 North East 1 1 1 
			 North West 2 2 2 
			 Yorkshire and Number 2 2 2 
			 East Midlands 1 1 1 
			 West Midlands 2 2 2 
			 East 1 1 1 
			 London 1 1 1 
			 South East 1 1 1 
			 South West 1 1 1 
			 Total England 11 12 12 
			 
			 Wales 2 2 2 
			 Scotland 3 3 3 
			 Great Britain 16 17 18 
		
	
	Numbers are based on a 5 per cent. sample of administrative records, drawn quarterly from the Incapacity Benefit computer system, and averaged over each financial year.
	Expenditure figures have been rounded to the nearest million and may not sum to the total as a result. The exception to this is contained in the Table showing Incapacity Short Term expenditure on Endometriosis, which is rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand.

Incapacity Benefit

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of the Incapacity Benefit caseload have been in continuous receipt of the benefit since before 1 May 1997.

Maria Eagle: The total number of IB and SDA claimants at 30 November 2003 is 2,720,500. Of these, 1,129,200 or 41.5 per cent. have a claim start date before 1 May 1997.
	Before 1997, people claiming Incapacity Benefits received virtually no support to get back to work despite the fact that large numbers want to work again. That is why, since 1997, we have sought to provide greater incentives to try out work, and to offer specialist support to put individuals in a better position to secure a job.
	Our Pathways to Work pilots bring all existing and new measures together in a more coherent package of choices. On 17 March, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced further incentives to be trialled in pilot areas to enable those preparing for a return to work to receive an additional 20 per week for up to 26 weeks.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and the percentage is rounded to one place of decimal.
	2. Some cases, which have been rebuilt onto the system, may have a start date later than the original commencement date of the spell.
	3. Cases where payment has been temporarily suspended for a period within the spell, cannot be identified.
	Source:
	DWPIAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample.

Incapacity Benefit

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time was for which (a) a man and (b) a woman has received Incapacity Benefit on mental health grounds in each year since 1997 in relation to (i) stress, (ii) behavioural problems, (iii) anxiety and (iv) depression.

Maria Eagle: The information has been placed in the Library.

Jobcentre Plus

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his plans are for Jobcentre Plus for over 50s; and how much his Department has committed to the programme.

Des Browne: Our Pensions Green Paper 'Simplicity, Security and Choice: Working and Saving for Retirement' reinforced our commitment to extend employment opportunities for older people, with a range of proposals including providing extra back to work help for the over 50s and a number of changes to tax and pension rules which will give individuals more choice and the opportunity to stay in work longer. We have also pledged to tackle age discrimination in the workplace and will be introducing age legislation and guidance covering employment and vocational training by October 2006.
	Through Jobcentre Plus we have enhanced the New Deal 50plus programme to offer customers a package of help tailored to individual needs. This includes personal job-search advice, pre-work training, work trials, volunteering opportunities and an in-work training grant. This help is available to all people aged 50 and over (and their dependent partners aged 50 and over) who have been on specified benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Pension Credit for six months or more.
	The projected expenditure for New Deal 50plus in 200304 is 56 million. Back to work help is also available to people aged 50 or over through other programmes, for example New Deal 25plus and Work Based Learning for Adults. The cost of this help is not available separately of wider programme budgets. Additionally, we have allocated 7.9 million in 200405 and 7.2 million in 200506 to fund new measures to assist people aged 50 and over back to work (as announced in the pre-Budget report) and a campaign to encourage employers to recruit and retain older workers (as announced in the 2004 Budget).
	From April 2004 we will be piloting two of the back to work help proposals outlined in the Green Paper. The Over 50s Outreach pilot involves external organisations acting as an intermediary between Jobcentre Plus and the customer. Research has indicated that contact from Jobcentre Plus can concern people aged over 50, particularly those on inactive benefits such as Incapacity Benefit, Income Support and Severe Disablement Allowance. This project is aimed at identifying best practice to help Jobcentre Plus better engage with these customers.
	We are also running a pilot study giving customers aged 50 to 59, who have been claiming JSA for 18 months, mandatory Intensive Activity Periods as part of their ND25plus programme. Customers aged 25 to 49 are already required to participate in this element of the ND25plus programme because it offers them extensive help back into work. Eligible customers aged 50 to 59 currently have voluntary access to this provision but only 12 per cent. take up the opportunity. Research suggests that this lack of take up may be due to individuals losing confidence and becoming demoralised about their chances of returning to work. We believe that participation in the Intensive Activity Periods is a key element in re-motivating people aged 50 to 59 years old and giving them the relevant support and employment opportunities they need.
	In addition to this, the IB Reform pilots are looking at how we can best provide the support needed to help new incapacity benefit customers return to work. Given the positive start to the pilots, and the fact that many of those existing customers volunteering to take part have been successfully helped back into jobs, a tailored regime will be introduced early in 2005 for all existing IB customers who started their claim in the two years prior to the beginning of the IB Reform Pilots.

Jobcentre Plus

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Jobcentre Plus advisers receive additional payments for keeping clients with disabilities in work; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Jobcentre Plus advisers, in common with other DWP staff, receive a basic salary and have the opportunity to earn a performance-related bonus on top. In the 2003 pay award those bonuses were up to 220 for Band C staff in Jobcentre Plus, which included personal advisers. The amount of bonus was determined by the box marking an individual received in their annual appraisal, which depended on achievement of their objectives. These objectives would have covered the full range of their duties.

Jobcentre Plus

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will list the functions (a) of job centres and (b) of Jobcentre Plus centres;
	(2)  if he will list the functions (a) of job centres and (b) of Jobcentre Plus centres in (i) Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and (ii) Ayrshire and Bute, showing for each at the last date for which information is available (A) the number of jobseeker's allowance customers registered at each, (B) the number of income support and incapacity benefit customers registered at each, (C) the number of customers at each in the specialist disability adviser's caseload and (D) the number of customers expected to be seen for incapacity benefit once the new regulations take effect.

Des Browne: holding answer 18 March 2004
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Andrew Turner, dated 1 April 2004
	As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your question about the functions of Jobcentres and Jobcentre Plus centres generally and in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and Ayrshire and Bute in particular. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
	Jobcentre Plus came into existence as a national organisation at the beginning of April 2002 and the roll-out of its new services will be completed by 2006. The Benefits Agency and Employment Service ceased to exist at the same time. Some 400 Jobcentre Plus offices are now delivering the new integrated service across the country.
	In broad terms, Jobcentres, formerly operated by the Employment Service, have traditionally provided the following services:
	1. taking new claims to Jobseeker's Allowance;
	2. providing support for jobseekers through New Deal;
	3. providing access to job vacancies through touch-screen Jobpoints
	4. Fortnightly Jobsearch Reviews and adviser interventions, supporting jobsearch and checking entitlement to benefit;
	5. providing advice and guidance services in the community through outreach and building local partnerships; and
	6. signposting to other Government services.
	Social security offices, formerly operated by the Benefits Agency, have traditionally provided the following services:
	1. receiving and processing claims for a wide range of benefits;
	2. managing applications to the Social Fund;
	3. providing advice and information on benefits and allowances;
	4. investigating cases of suspected fraud, taking action where appropriate; and
	5. signposting to other Government services.
	The new Jobcentre Plus offices deliver an integrated service incorporating those functions previously delivered through Jobcentres and social security offices. New technology and a growing contact centre network, support the delivery of this new service. As Jobcentre Plus offices are introduced across the country people of working age will have one local contact point for benefits and job vacancies.
	With Jobcentre Plus roll-out spread over four years, local managers have had some flexibility to begin the integration of local services ahead of the full implementation. In some locations this might take the form of social security experts providing benefit advice in Jobcentres and, conversely, provision of some access to job vacancies in social security offices. Where we have done this it has improved access to local services, but at the same time it has blurred the distinction between Jobcentres and social security offices.
	The new Jobcentre Plus service is currently being rolled out in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Ayrshire is currently scheduled to roll-out the new service in 200506 and Bute has been delivering the new service since 17 March 2003.
	You asked for specific information on; (a) the number of Jobseeker's Allowance customers registered at each; (b) the number of Income Support and Incapacity Benefit customers registered at each; (c) the number of customers at each in the specialist Disability Adviser's caseload; and (d) the number of customers expected to be seen for Incapacity Benefit once the new regulations take effect. Current information up to the end of February can be found in the following tables.
	
		Ayrshire and Bute
		
			 Office Number of JSA Customers Registered Number of IS and IB Customers Registered Number of Disability Employment Advisors Caseload Customers Number of IB Customers to be seen when the IB Reform Pilot takes effect (20) 
		
		
			 Rothesay Jobcentre Plus (JCP) 202 825 4 6 
			 Ayr Jobcentre (JC) 2,200 0 80 0 
			 Ayr Social Security Office (SSO) 0 16,782 0 0 
			 Cumnock JC 798 0 6 0 
			 Cumnock SSO 0 688 0 0 
			 Girvan JC 270 0 17 0 
			 Irvine JC 1,396 0 68 0 
			 Irvine SSO 0 17,471 0 0 
			 Kilbirnie JC 550 0 15 0 
			 Kilmamock JC 2,204 0 77 0 
			 Kilmarnock SSO 0 10,478 0 0 
			 Kilwinning JC 750 0 15 0 
			 Largs JC 260 0 6 0 
			 Saltcoats JC 1420 0 38 0 
			 Troon JC 244 0 6 0 
			 Total 10,294 46,244 332 6 
		
	
	(20) Rothesay Jobcentre Plus covers the Isle of Bute and is part of the IB Reform Pilot. Weekly figure provided.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Management Information System Programme.
	I hope this is helpful.

Maternity Allowance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he has taken to publicise the eligibility criteria for maternity allowance.

Maria Eagle: The eligibility criteria for Maternity Allowance are publicised in a number of ways. The Department publishes a leaflet which is available through both its offices and post offices.
	A Maternity Certificate is issued to all women by their GP or midwife from their twenty-first week of pregnancy; it contains basic information on entitlement to Maternity Allowance and directs potential claimants to Jobcentre Plus or Social Security Offices for further guidance and claim forms.
	Information is available on a number of websites including the Department's own site, and those of Jobcentre Plus and the Department of Trade and Industry; Inland Revenue guidance also signposts our information sources.
	Employed women who are not entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay should also be advised by their employer to claim Maternity Allowance. The Department's leaflet is also included in the bounty pack women receive following childbirth.

New Deal

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated cost of the New Deal is in the current financial year, broken down by programme.

Maria Eagle: The information is in the following table:
	
		Estimated New Deal Costs(21) --  million
		
			  200304 Plans 
		
		
			 New Deal for Young People 340 
			 New Deal 25 plus 255 
			 New Deal 50 plus 56 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents 82 
			 New Deal for Disabled People 27 
			 New Deal for partners 11 
		
	
	Note:
	(21) Includes programme and administrative spend.
	Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions Departmental Report 2003.

New Deal

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people have participated in the New Deal since its inception, broken down by programme;
	(2)  what the (a) planned and (b) actual cost of the New Deal has been in each year of its operation;
	(3)  what the average cost per participant of the New Deal has been to date.

Maria Eagle: The information requested on the number of New Deal participants is in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of New Deal Participants (22) Number of New Deal Starts (23) 
		
		
			 New Deal for Young People(24) 831,350 1,081,680 
			 New Deal 25plus(25) 496,790 673,790 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents(26) 459,070 577,710 
			 New Deal for Disabled People(27) 69,450 69,450 
			 New Deal for Partners(28) 7,480 7,480 
			 New Deal 50 plus(29) 98,040 98,040 
		
	
	(22) All figures relate to individuals who have started each programme.
	(23) An individual may have had more than one start over the period. A distinction between individuals and starts for NDDP, NDP, and ND50+ can't be made.
	(24) January 1998December 2003
	(25) April 1998December 2003
	(26) October 1998December 2003
	(27) Pilots launched in September 1998. National network of NDDP job brokers launched from July 2001. Up to December 2003.
	(28) Launched as New Deal for Partners of Unemployed People in April 1999. Extended to partners of other benefit recipients in April 2001. Up to December 2003.
	(29) New Deal 50 plus was introduced in nine pathfinder areas on 25 October 1999 and rolled out nationally on 3 April 2000. Up to March 2003.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, Information and Analysis Directorate, DWP
	The information requested on the planned and actual cost of the New Deal is in the following table:
	
		 million
		
			  New Deal for Young People New Deal 25 plus New Deal 50 plus New Deal for Lone Parents New Deal for Disabled People New Deal for Partners 
		
		
			 199798(30)   
			 Outturn(31) 43  
			 199899   
			 Plans(32) (37)525 114  18 3  
			 Outturn(31) 260 34  18 1 1 
			 19992000   
			 Plans(33) 764 223  51 6 15 
			 Outturn(31) 370 97 3 39 22 5 
			 200001   
			 Plans(34) (38)402 130 16 43  18 
			 Outturn(31) 412 60 56 43 14 11 
			 200102   
			 Plans(35) (39)366 183 16 72 55 17 
			 Outturn(31) 308 213 87 46 10 8 
			 200203   
			 Plans(36) (39)302 215 16 121 79 26 
			 Outturn(31) , (40) 339 254 106 80 27 6 
			 200304   
			 Plans(31) 340 255 56 82 27 11 
		
	
	(30) Planned figures not available prior to start of financial year.
	(31) Source: 2003 DWP Departmental Report (Cm 5921).
	(32) Source: 1998 DfEE Departmental Report (Cm 3910). Employment Service running and programme costs funded from the Windfall Tax199899 requirement.
	(33) Source: 1999 DfEE Departmental Report (Cm 4202). Employment Service New Deal running and programme costs funded from the Windfall Tax199900 plans. Figures exclude measures for New Deal for the over 50s and New Deal for Young People announced in the March 1999 Budget.
	(34) Source: 2000 DfEE Departmental Report (Cm 4602). Employment Service New Deal running and programme costs funded from the Windfall Tax200001 plans.
	(35) Source: 2001 DfEE Departmental Report (Cm 5102). DfEE and Employment Service running and programme costs funded from the Windfall Tax/Employment Opportunities Fund200102 plans.
	(36) Source: 2001 DfEE Departmental Report (Cm 5102). DfEE and Employment Service running and programme costs funded from the Windfall Tax/ Employment Opportunities Fund200203 plans.
	(37) Includes 25 million capital costs.
	(38) Includes New Deal Innovation Fund.
	(39) Includes New Deal Innovation Fund and New Deal Employer Managers.
	(40) Estimated
	Notes:
	All figures rounded to nearest  million.
	All planned figures quoted were the latest published in the appropriate Departmental Report.
	Information on the cost per individual participant up to March 2002, the last financial year to have confirmed outturn cost figures, is in the following table:
	
		
			  Actual Cost up to March 2002 (millions)(41) Number of New Deal Participants up to March 2002 (42) , (43) Number of New Deal Starts up to March 2002 (42) , (44) Average Cost per individual up to March 2002 (rounded to the nearest 10) Average Cost per start up to March 2002 (rounded to the nearest 10) 
		
		
			 New Deal for Young People 1,393 (45)552,882 (45)788,240 2,520 1,770 
			 New Deal 25plus 404 (46)366,190 (46)481, 230 1,100 840 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents 146 (47)248,170 (47)343,040 590 430 
			 New Deal for Disabled People 47 (48)12,960 (48)12,960 3,630 3,630 
			 New Deal for Partners 25 (49)5,150 (49)5,150 4,850 4,850 
			 New Deal 50 plus 146 (50)66,970 (50)66,970 2,180 2,180 
			   
			 Total 2,161 1,252,322 1,697,590 1,730 1,270 
		
	
	(41)Source: DWP Departmental Report 2003
	(42) Source: New Deal Evaluation Database, Information and Analysis Directorate, DWP
	(43) All figures relate to individuals who have started each programme
	(44) An individual may have had more than one start over the period. A distinction between individuals and starts for NDDP, NDP, and ND50+ can't be made.
	(45) January 1998March 2002
	(46) April 1998March 2002
	(47) October 1998March 2002
	(48) Pilots launched in September 1998. National network of NDDP job brokers launched from July 2001. Up to March 2002.
	(49) Launched as New Deal for Partners of Unemployed People in April 1999. Extended to partners of other benefit recipients in April 2001. Up to December March 2002
	(50) New Deal 50 plus was introduced in nine pathfinder areas on 25 October 1999 and rolled out nationally on 3 April 2000. Up to March 2002.
	Over one million people have been helped in to work through the New Deal since its creation, but it has also been a success in financial terms. NIESR estimated that the economy as a whole is richer by 500 million a year as a result of the New Deal for Young People. Independent evaluation has also found that the New Deal for Lone Parents saves money; with every lone parent moving into work equating to an exchequer saving of nearly 1,600.

Opinion Sampling

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of total expenditure by his Department on (a) focus groups and (b) opinion polls in each year from 199596 to 200304; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions wants to hear what people have to say about proposed new policies and procedures, and about how our services are meeting the needs of our customers. There are several methods by which we do this:
	consultation exercises; conducted in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance;
	meetings with customer representatives to obtain their views and feedback;
	customer surveys, both national and local;
	research, contracted in accordance with agreed tendering procedures which;
	are subject to the usual rules that spending should represent good value for money.
	Because the Department arranges its own consultative meetings, often within its respective businesses, detailed information about expenditure on all of these is not held centrally, and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		Costs of our public opinion surveys over the last 3 years
		
			   
		
		
			 200304 25,556.25 
			 200203 23,441.25 
			 200102 42,476.25

Pensioners

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a final date has been set after which pensioners who do not want to change their payment arrangements will no longer be able to use pension books.

Chris Pond: holding answer 15 March 2004
	The last pension book foils can be dated no later than 28 February 2005. This is to allow for three-month validity for encashment prior to the end of the order book contract on 31 May 2005.

Pensioners

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what alternative methods of payment he is proposing for people who currently receive a state pension or other benefits by order book, girocheque or payable order but will be unable to transfer to direct payment;
	(2)  who will be eligible to receive their (a) state pension and (b) other benefits by methods other than direct payment.

Chris Pond: Research has shown that 87 per cent. of all our customers and 90 per cent. of pensioners already have an account suitable for direct payment.
	Direct payment will be the best and most secure option for the overwhelming majority of our customers, giving them a more modern and reliable method of payment with greater choice about where and when they collect their money.
	We have always recognised that there will be a small number of people who we cannot pay directly into an account. We are finalising the design of a method of payment to properly meet the needs of these customers and it will be cheque based.
	Customers who have not supplied account details will be contacted at an appropriate time and the options available to them will be fully explained. This will include the fact that order books will no longer be a payment option.
	The move to direct payment is progressing well. Key figures on the progress of conversion to direct payment are available in the Library updated every four weeks.

Pensioners

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners whose pension is paid by order book receive their pension on (a) Monday, (b) Tuesday, (c) Wednesday, (d) Thursday and (e) Friday.

Chris Pond: holding answer 19 January 2004
	The following table shows a breakdown of State Pensioners receiving their payment by means of an order book, by day of payment.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Monday 2,814,716 
			 Tuesday 430,581 
			 Thursday 815,106 
			 Unknown 4,374 
			 Total 4,064,777 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures refer to a snapshot of live accounts in payment on 29 November 2003.
	2. Excludes State Pension recipients who receive State Pension combined with another benefit and are paid through another benefit system.
	3. Day of payment is calculated by looking at the last payment authorised by the Pension Service, which may be in the future.
	4. The day of payment used in this analysis may not be the pensioners usual day of payment if their last payment day in this instrument of payment is altered for any reason (e.g. Christmas).
	5. This table shows the day State Pension is paid, not the day the claimant picks up their pension from the Post Office.
	6. This answer differs to PQ/04/145975 (Mr Alan Reid) because of change in methodology for calculating these figures.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample

Pensioners

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Department's policy to persuade people to have their pension paid into a bank account includes telephone calls urging them to open a bank account.

Chris Pond: Already 87 per cent. of all customers, rising to 90 per cent. of pensioners, have access to a bank account that can receive Direct Payment. It is the role of staff to provide customers with factual information on all of their account options. It is for customers themselves to decide which type of account they wish to have their pensions and benefits paid into. The conversion process normally consists of one or more mailings sent directly to the customer, followed by a telephone call if there is no response to the letter(s). The mailing advises customers that this may happen.

Pensioners

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in (a) Essex and (b) the West Chelmsford constituency collect benefits from post offices.

Chris Pond: Information available on pensioners (women over 60 and men over 65) as at 31 December 2003 in (a) Essex and (b) West Chelmsford constituency receiving their benefits by a method of payment collectable at a Post Office is shown in the following table. Included in these figures are customers paid into Post Office Card Accounts and customers paid by girocheque. Girocheques are encashable either at a Post Office or they can be paid into a bank or building society account.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Essex 100,215 
			 West Chelmsford 6,050 
		
	
	Some customers who are paid direct into a bank or building society account can also collect their payments in cash at Post Offices through the wider range of banking services now available at the Post Office. There is no data available on the number of benefit claims collected in this way.

Pensioners

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in (a) Essex and (b) the West Chelmsford constituency have migrated from over-the-counter benefit payments to direct transfers in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested. Figures are only available from December 2002.
	Information available for the number of pensioners (women aged 60 and over, men aged 65 and over) who migrated from over the counter benefit payments to Direct Payments into bank and building society accounts between December 2002 and December 2003 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 West Chelmsford constituency 950 
			 Essex 12,345

Pensioners

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Hemsworth constituency receive benefits at the Post Office.

Chris Pond: pursuant to his reply, 21 January 2004, Official Report, c. 1347W
	The number of Pensioners in the Hemsworth constituency receiving at least one benefit which can be collected at the Post Office is 10,905. This information has been compiled from data available on 29 November 2003.
	War Pensions accounts are not included in this reply as they are now the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence.

Pensioners

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on changes to services to (a) employers and (b) pensioners in the London borough of Redbridge since 1997.

Maria Eagle: The delivery of services to Employers in Redbridge is via the Employer Direct Call Centre in Southend which opened in March 2001.
	Employer Direct handles inbound calls, faxes and emails from employers wishing to place a vacancy with Jobcentre Plus. They maintain contact with the employer through the life of the vacancy through the Contact Centre within the Region where the employer is based.
	The Pension Service has been developed as a customer-focused organisation after researching what customers need and expect from the Government in relation to pensions business.
	The London Pension Centre in Glasgow has been providing a service to pensioners in the London borough of Redbridge since February 2004. The Pension Centre provides a dedicated service to Pensioners, handling their pension inquiries and applications. Prior to this date these services were provided by Ilford Social Security Office.
	Pension Centres are supported by a local service operating in the communityproviding face-to-face contact through home visits, appointment surgeries and other outreach activity in locations that customers find convenient, such as libraries, community centres and premises provided by partner organisations, allowing more customers to access The Pension Service.

Population Increase (London)

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision he has made for the increase in his Department's services to address London's projected population increase; and what plans he has put in place to deal with the employment needs for the population increase.

Des Browne: The Department for Work and Pensions has standards of service for each person receiving benefits or pensions and the Department's business plans ensure that there are sufficient staff and resource to deliver these standards of service.
	Such planning will, of course, take account of the size of the London population. It will also need to take account of the proportion of people claiming benefits and pensions. For example, between May 1997 and May 2003 the numbers claiming working age benefits in London has fallen from 830,000 to 691,000 and the proportion of the population from 18.8 per cent. to 14.7 per cent.
	At the time of the pre-Budget report 2003 DWP together with the Treasury published a report Full Employment in Every Region. This examined the employment situation in all regions including London and set out the how labour market policy is developing to deal with London's employment needs.

Post Office Card Account

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect in terms of timescale and cost of altering the Post Office card account application process to allow account details to be provided from Post Office Limited direct to his Department; whether he has received representations from (a) Post Office Limited and (b) others relating to the Post Office card account application process; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the timescale involved in processing an application to receive pension and benefits into (a) a Post Office Card Account and (b) a bank or building society account; whether he has assessed differences in the timescale of the different application processes for direct payment; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: holding answer 22 March 2004
	We do recognise that some customers have been slow to send their Post Office card account details to the DWP. The DWP typically send out a conversion letter to customers shortly after they have been sent a new order book. As order books normally last for 20 weeks, this gives the customer plenty of time to open an account if necessary and supply account details.
	However, it is clear that many customers do not realise that they then need to provide DWP with their card account details. We are working with the Post Office, sub-postmasters and others to solve this problem. We have improved customer information and sub-postmaster training. These actions have already had some impact and the number of customers returning account details is starting to increase. Further action will also be taken to simplify the process for customers returning account details to DWP.

Post Office Card Account

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent in marketing the Post Office Card Account in the last year in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.

Maria Eagle: The Department does not market specifically the Post Office Card Account. Instead customers are given information on all the accounts available for Direct Payment. The information is presented in a way that enables customers to decide which account option is best for their individual circumstances.
	The total publicity cost for the Direct Payment information campaign during 200304 is estimated to be 12,462,000. This includes advertising. As this is a national information campaign, it is not possible to isolate costs for Scotland.

Prescribed Disease A11

Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he received the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council Report on Prescribed Disease A11; and when he will publish his response to the report.

Des Browne: My right hon. Friend received the report by the Industrial Injury Advisory Council on Prescribed Disease A11 on 23 March 2004. We are currently giving careful consideration to the Council's findings and hope to publish the report after the Easter recess.

Redundancies/Staff Reduction

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has conducted into the effects of his Department's planned redundancies and redeployment of staff over the next four years; if he will place copies in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in achieving a gross reduction of 40,000 civil servants in his Department since the Budget.

Maria Eagle: The Department has been developing plans for a reduction of up to 18,000 posts since 2002. This is now part of a four-year plan to reduce the number of posts by 30,000. This will reflect the new business model being rolled-out in Jobcentre Plus including more front-line staff conducting work-focused interviews; a Pension Transformation Programme and reductions in staffing in The Pension Service; the introduction of Child Support reform; and savings in back office functions in HR, finance and IT support.
	The detail of how reductions will be allocated and profiled between businesses and corporate services will be developed in the normal way through our business planning processes and in discussion with the trade unions. We will provide further detail after the Spending Review settlement.

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the requirements are on officials in his Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for his departmental officials.

Maria Eagle: The Civil Service Management Code sets out the requirement for civil servants declaring any conflicts of interest. The Department for Work and Pensions requires individuals to seek permission from their line managers before undertaking any outside employment or activity, which could have a conflict of interest with working for the Department. These include: Political Activities, Outside Business Appointments, Non-Executive Directorships, secondary jobs, managing a board and lodging establishment/nursing home, membership of non-political organisations, Public Service, enlistment in HM Forces, voluntary reserve and auxiliary forces. There is no central register of interests; it is up to individuals and line managers to record them.

Vaccine Damages Payments

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1608W, which of the 571 cases identified involved (a) an extension of time limits for claiming and (b) the reduction of the disability threshold; and how many claims in each of these categories have been (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful.

Maria Eagle: The 571 cases identified under the Regulatory Reform Order (RRO), break down into the following:
	208 were originally disallowed because they were out of time;
	363 were below the original disability threshold.
	Of the 571 cases identified, 337 further claims have so far been received. Of these:
	150 were originally disallowed on time limit grounds. Two of these have been successful, 143 1 have been unsuccessful and five are pending;
	187 were originally disallowed on disablement grounds. Six of these have been successful, 173 2 have been unsuccessful and eight are pending.
	Notes:
	1 , 2 Of these 316 subsequent disallowances, 275 have been disallowed on the grounds that causation has not been accepted, while 41 have been disallowed where causation has been accepted but the vaccinated person is deemed not to be over 60 per cent. disabled.
	3 Causation is accepted where on the balance of probability, it is determined that a person is, or was immediately before their death, severely disabled due to vaccination against any of the specified diseases.

Working at Height

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Working at Height Directive applies to (a) mountaineering, (b) rock climbing, (c) acrobatics in circuses and gymnasiums and (d) other outdoor leisure activities.

Des Browne: The Temporary Work at Height Directive (2001/45/EC) is intended to reduce the risk of falls from height, which account for a large percentage of fatal or major injuries at work. The Directive has the same scope of application as the Framework Directive (89/391/EEC), and applies to all sectors of activity where temporary work at height is carried out.
	Therefore, the Directive would apply to all these activities when performed as a work activity. It would not apply to private individuals who partake in these tasks as a sport, or leisure activity. However, it is expected to have little impact on activities where employers fully comply with existing good practice.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights projects in 2002 (a) to establish a dialogue on human rights between the EU and Iran and (b) to strengthen the labour movement in Tunisia; and what his Department's involvement was in each project.

Bill Rammell: Decisions about the individual projects funded by the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights are made by the European Commission and local EC Delegations. They are also responsible for managing and evaluating the projects.
	The EU Committee on Human Rights and Democracy allocates EU budget resources to projects in third countries and is responsible for evaluating the impact of the fund.
	The UK is represented on the Committee by officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU.

Burma

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will advocate a strengthening of the EU Common Position on Burma at the forthcoming review.

Mike O'Brien: Prime Minister Khin Nyunt of Burma's State Peace and Development Council announced a roadmap to national reconciliation on 30 August 2003. The first step of the roadmap is to reconvene the National Convention to agree a new constitution, as outlined by Foreign Minister Win Aung at the Bangkok Process meeting in December. In light of that, we believe that it would send a wrong signal to strengthen sanctions under the EU's Common Position on Burma at a time when the regime may be moving forward with the political process. We are therefore prepared to support a rollover of existing measures in the EU Common Position on Burma which already contains tough measures against the regime. However, we remain ready to respond proportionately to positive or negative progress in Burma.

China

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions the Government has held with the Chinese government on Tibetan political prisoners.

Bill Rammell: I personally raised the case of one Tibetan political prisoner with Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui in Beijing on 17 December 2003.
	Tibetan political prisoners are included on the list of individual cases of concern which we hand over to the Chinese authorities, in the context of our biannual Human Rights Dialogue. The most recent dialogue round was held in Beijing on 1011 November 2003.
	Phuntsog Nyidrol one of the prisoners on our list was released earlier this month.
	The EU also includes Tibetans on its list of individual cases.

Cyprus

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with political leaders in Cyprus with a view to securing a deal to reunite Cyprus before 1 May.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Foreign Minister of Cyprus at the European Council on 25 March. On 31 March, the Foreign Secretary spoke to the Greek Foreign Minister, who was in Switzerland for the final stage of settlement negotiations. He also recently spoke to the Turkish Foreign Minister. The Foreign Secretary discussed Europe's role in securing a Cyprus settlement in recent meetings with EU Foreign Ministers. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has written to the Prime Ministers of Turkey and Greece, and President Papadopoulos of Cyprus, in recent days.
	The Foreign Secretary has made a written statement today on the outcome of the Buergenstock negotiations. With the help of the UN Secretary-General the leaders in Cyprus have peace within their grasp. We are calling on all the people of the island to seize that chance. It will then be for the EU to accommodate the terms of a Cyprus settlement in line with the principles upon which the EU is founded. The EU reiterated that commitment as recently as the last European Council on 26 March 2004.

European Constitution

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's position is on Article 51 of the draft EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: The Government are content with Article 51 of the draft Constitutional Treaty on the status of churches and non-confessional organisations. The Article reflects the recognition in Declaration 11 to the Treaty of Amsterdam that religion and its structure and organisation in the member states are not areas of Union legislative activity. It also makes it clear that the Union equally respects the status of religious and secular organisations and shall maintain an open transparent and regular dialogue with them. The Government consider that maintaining this dialogue is a normal function of a democratic and pluralist Europe.

European Constitution

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will apply to the EU Constitution a European version of the criterion applied to the 1949 Washington Treaty which declared that it should be understandable to a milkman from Omaha.

Denis MacShane: If and when an EU constitutional treaty is agreed I will seek to publish a guide to it in plain English that milk persons in Ogmore can understand.

European Constitution

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he expects the negotiations on the European Constitution to restart in the near future.

Denis MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Richard Shepherd) in the House on 30 March 2004, Official Report, column 1415.

Iran and Syria

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made in the past six months of whether the governments of (a) Iran and (b) Syria have given support to terrorist groups.

Bill Rammell: The UK Government are concerned that Palestinian terrorist groups may draw support from inside Iran and Syria. We continue to press both the Iranian and Syrian authorities on this and. in Syria's case, on the activities of those groups with a presence in Syria. Separately, we have urged the Iranian Government to take effective action against any members of Al-Qaeda seeking refuge in Iran and the Syrian Government to act to stem the flow of terrorists into Iraq. We and EU partners have made clear that relations with both countries can only develop on the basis of action to address political concerns, including terrorism.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the Iraqi Governing Council will be different after the transfer of sovereignty; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) will cease to exist as the embodiment of Iraqi sovereignty (as provided for in UNSCR 1511) after 30 June. As set out in Article 2B(1) of the Transitional Administrative Law agreed on 8 March, it will be replaced by a fully sovereign Iraqi Interim Government. The best way to establish the Interim Government is now under discussion among Iraqis, the IGC and the Coalition Provisional Authority. The UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi is due to return to Iraq soon to take part in these discussions.

Iraq

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what protection is provided for religious communities in Iraq.

Bill Rammell: The coalition is working hard to strengthen the Iraqi security and judicial sectors to provide law and order for all Iraqis and to safeguard their rights.
	Those rights are laid out in the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council on March 8. A copy of the TAL has been placed in the Library of the House. Article 12 states that
	All Iraqis are equal in their rights without regard to gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality, religion, or origin, and they are equal before the law. Discrimination against an Iraqi citizen on the basis of his gender, nationality, religion, or origin is prohibited.

Iraq

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what protection for the role of women in Government there will be in the plans to hand over power to an Iraqi Government.

Bill Rammell: The Transitional Administrative Law includes provision for an electoral system designed to achieve a goal of no less than one-quarter representation of women in the Transitional National Assembly to be elected no later than January 2005. The Coalition Provisional Authority is discussing with the Iraqi Governing Council, other Iraqis and the UN how best to achieve this target and to ensure women are strongly represented in the Interim Government to be established after 30 June.

Ministerial Visits

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a Minister in his Department last visited (a) Singapore, (b) Malaysia and (c) Thailand.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Singapore between 89 January 2003 and Malaysia on 10 January 2003. My hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) (Ben Bradshaw) was the last FCO Minister to visit Thailand, between 1619 December 2001.

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the requirements are on officials in his Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for his departmental officials.

Mike O'Brien: The requirements for officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to declare current interests are contained in the Diplomatic Service Regulations and Home Civil Service Regulations. These regulations, stemming from the Civil Service Management Code, set out the principal terms governing employment in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and highlight the general principle of conduct that
	you must not use your official position to further your private interests.
	Separate regulations cover the circumstances in which officers must declare:
	Gifts, advantages and hospitality
	Private occupations
	Business interests
	Declarations and paperwork relating to private occupations and business interests are held on individual files.

Taiwan

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent election in Taiwan.

Bill Rammell: The United Kingdom Government continues to welcome the development of democracy in Taiwan. On 26 March Taiwan's Central Election Committee announced formally that Chen Shui-bian had won the election. The Opposition candidates have asked for a recount and a judicial review. The United Kingdom hopes that the issue can be dealt with through the appropriate legal mechanisms.

Turkey

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Turkish authorities in relation to (a) human rights issues and (b) the possibility of accession to the EU.

Denis MacShane: Both my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I frequently discuss human rights and Turkey's EU accession prospects with Turkish Ministersmost recently in the margins of the spring European Council. The Foreign Secretary also raised these issues with Foreign Minister Gul in Istanbul on 3 March. We repeatedly affirm the UK's strong support for Turkey's EU aspirations and urge Turkish Ministers to press ahead with implementation of human rights reforms.

Venezuela

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on promoting regime change in Venezuela; what discussions he or his officials have had with United States counterparts on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The UK with its European Union partners has made clear its position regarding Venezuela in the most recent EU Declaration of 4 March 2004 which encourages the country to find a democratic and peaceful solution to its current political crisis. We have regular discussions with the US on a range of foreign policy issues, including the situation in Venezuela.

Visas

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with US immigration authorities in relation to proposed changes to visa requirements for British citizens.

Mike O'Brien: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Worthing, West (Peter Bottomley) on 10 March 2004, Official Report, column 1532W.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Tax

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) the Valuation Office Agency, (b) the valuation tribunals and (c) central government of administering council tax and council tax benefit in financial year 200304.

Nick Raynsford: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) budget for council tax work in 200304 is about 29 million. The part of the Valuation Tribunals budget for 200304 relating to council tax work is approximately 1 million. The Government is responsible for the policy and legislation rather than the administration of council tax and council tax benefit.

Fire Service

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the training costs were (a) per officer and (b) in total for new recruits to the Fire Service in (i) the East Midlands and (ii) West Derbyshire in each year since 1997.

Nick Raynsford: The information is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Fire Service

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people were recruited to the Fire Service in (a) the East Midlands and (b) West Derbyshire in each year since 1997; and what percentage of each year's intake remains as serving officers, in each case.

Nick Raynsford: Information since 1998 for the five fire and rescue services within the East Midlands Region on the number of people recruited to the Fire Service (in whole time, retained, fire control and non-uniformed positions) are tabled as follows. Data prior to 1998 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Information is not available for West Derbyshire, but is available for Derbyshire FRS as a whole.
	Data are not held centrally on the percentage of each year's fire and rescue service recruits who remain on as serving officers for East Midlands region or for West Derbyshire. The cost of gathering the information about the FRS concerned could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		Number of successful applicants in East Midlands fire and rescue services between 199899 and 200203
		
			  Derbyshire Leicestershire Lincolnshire Northamptonshire Nottinghamshire Regional total 
		
		
			 Whole-time  
			 199899 5 20 28 0 28 81 
			 19992000 14 18 0 14 18 64 
			 200001 0 10 0 20 24 54 
			 200102 18 47 8 0 25 98 
			 200203 6 0 36 25 34 101 
			
			 Retained   
			 199899 16 14 68 19 45 162 
			 19992000 39 12 72 30 39 192 
			 200001 26 24 42 30 43 165 
			 200102 34 17 81 35 46 213 
			 200203 37 24 31 23 39 154 
			
			 Fire control  
			 199899 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 19992000 2 5 0 0 2 9 
			 200001 0 3 3 3 0 9 
			 200102 2 0 8 7 0 17 
			 200203 4 7 6 2 0 19 
			
			 Non-uniformed  
			 199899 14 2 9 5 13 43 
			 19992000 0 6 8 4 11 29 
			 200001 15 9 6 10 10 50 
			 200102 13 9 18 0 15 55 
			 200203 13 23 8 8 16 68

Government Offices for the Regions

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the budget is for each of the Government offices for the regions for 200304; and what the budget of each has been for each of the previous three years.

Nick Raynsford: The running cost budgets of Government Offices for the Regions have increased as more Departments have devolved more work to be carried out in the regions. The budgets for 200304 and each of the previous three years are tabled as follows:
	
		Amounts in 000
		
			 GO 200304 
		
		
			 North East 12,061 
			 North West 17,508 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 12,848 
			 West Midlands 13,043 
			 East Midlands 10,861 
			 East 12,950 
			 South East 14,461 
			 South West 14,053 
			 London 16,611 
			 Totals 124,396 
		
	
	
		Amounts in 000
		
			 GO 200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 North East 8,197.33 8,973.88 10,074.76 
			 North West 13,651.03 15,250.91 13,543.84 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 9,357.21 9,889.50 11,094.48 
			 West Midlands 9,960.77 10,315.96 10,584.49 
			 East Midlands 7,335.77 8,200.80 8,835.46 
			 East 7,542.50 8,532.82 9,357.24 
			 South East 9,477.27 10,309.34 10,860.12 
			 South West 8,711.39 10,671.85 11,752.84 
			 London 13,860.98 13,175.10 14,082.01 
			 Totals 88,094.25 95,320.16 102,185.24 
		
	
	The growth in the Government Office over the last three years is attributable to additional sponsor Departments joining and contributing staff and funding to the network, notably Defra (formerly MAFF) in 200102 and Home Office in 200203.

Home Information Packs

Ian Gibson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what (a) representations his Department has received from and (b) what meetings his Department has had with the housing industry regarding the proposed introduction of home information packs;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the percentage change in the number of failed housing market transactions that would result from the proposed introduction of home information packs;
	(3)  how many home inspectors will be required to fulfil the requirement of the home information pack proposals; how they will be trained; how they will be insured; and over what timescale they will be available;
	(4)  what research has been (a) commissioned and (b) undertaken by his Department to assess the economic costs and benefits to the housing market, in particular in areas of low-demand, of the introduction of home information packs;
	(5)  what assessment his Department has made of the pilots carried out on home information packs for house sales.

Keith Hill: All the main professional and trade bodies involved in the home buying and selling process have been actively involved in helping steer research and develop proposals for home information packs. These organisations frequently express views to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. They are closely involved in finalising arrangements for the smooth implementation of home information packs.
	Research carried out in 1998 showed that 28 per cent. of home sale transactions failed after terms have been agreed, costing buyers and sellers about 350 million each year in wasted expenditure. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expect home information packs to reduce significantly this failure and waste.
	Between 7,500 and 8,500 home inspectors will be needed to prepare home condition reports and 90 per cent. of these have already been identified within the property professions. Candidates will be trained within the educational sector and property industry in accordance with approved National Occupational Standards. They will be covered by indemnity insurance and the required number will be available before the implementation of the home information pack.
	A regulatory impact assessment published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister following consultation with the industry provides details of anticipated costs and benefits arising from home information packs. Following extensive research on this subject, we published a consultation paper the home information pack in low demand low value areas in March 2003. A summary of responses to the consultation was published on 3 February 2004. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
	In December 1999 we launched a pilot scheme in Bristol to test the practical operation of packs. This showed that home information packs can be assembled quickly, inject transparency into the home buying and selling process and help with the early identification and resolution of problems.

Home Initiatives

Alan Campbell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) the Starter Home Initiative and (b) the Abandoned Home Initiative in North Tyneside.

Keith Hill: Since September 2001, the Starter Home Initiative (SHI) has been helping key workers into home ownership in areas where the high cost of housing serves to undermine recruitment and retention of skilled staff in our key public services. It has not been available to key workers in the North East. The SHI was superseded from 1 April by a new key worker housing programmeKey Worker Living. This is also not available in the North East.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of an Abandoned Homes Initiative. However, our Market Renewal Pathfinders are a comprehensive programme to tackle low demand and abandonment in nine areas of England, including Tyneside. The boundaries of the Tyneside scheme, which include parts of Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, but not the North Tyneside council district, were drawn up following an analysis of local housing markets, using a worst first approach. The integrated approach to spatial and economic issues being adopted by the pathfinders should bring substantial benefits to the wider sub-region.

Houses in Multiple Occupation

Andy Reed: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to permit local authorities to charge landlords council tax for houses in multiple occupation occupied solely by students; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: No. Dwellings occupied entirely by students are exempt from council tax because unlike other groups of people on low incomes, students are not normally entitled to income related benefits such as housing and council tax benefit. If the Government were to make owners of student accommodation liable for council tax, it would not necessarily follow that they would ultimately bear the costs of the tax. This is because landlords could simply pass on the extra costs to the students through their rent.

Key Workers

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what definition he uses of the category key worker.

Keith Hill: For the purposes of the recently announced Key Worker Living programme, a key worker is defined as someone employed by the public sector; in a frontline role delivering an essential public service where there are serious recruitment and retention problems; and in a group recommended for inclusion by Regional Housing Boards.

Local Authority Standards (Training)

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will provide central funding to ensure that there is consistency in the level of training offered to local authority standards committee members.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister already funds the Standards Board for England, which has issued guidance to assist members of standards committees to carry out their role. The Board will continue to issue guidance as it considers appropriate on matters relating to the conduct of members of authorities, including guidance to standards committee members. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister relies on the Board's guidance, which has been well received by authorities, to promote consistency of standards.

Local Government (Local Labour Agreements)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which councils operate local labour agreements.

Nick Raynsford: This information requested is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

M11/Stansted Corridor

Simon Burns: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list those parts of the Chelmsford local authority area in the West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency which are included in the M11/Stansted corridor as a designated area for development; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: Chelmsford local authority area is not included in the London-Stansted-Cambridge-Peterborough corridor. My hon. Friend the Member for Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), made a statement on 2 February 2004 listing the local authorities in the corridor. A copy of this statement is available in the Library of the House.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of the set-up costs of elected regional assemblies he estimates will be (a) premises, (b) wages and salaries, (c) equipment and stationery and (d) other costs.

Nick Raynsford: The costs of setting up an elected regional assembly will vary between regions, largely because the cost of referendums and elections depends upon the size of the region's electorate. For these reasons the proportions of the various elements of the estimated set-up costs will also vary between regions.

Regional Government Staff

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his Answer of 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 168W, on regional government, whether those figures included (a) casual staff, (b) staff on fixed-term appointments, (c) staff seconded out, (d) staff on career breaks, (e) staff on maternity leave and (f) staff on special leave without pay.

Yvette Cooper: The figures in the answer included casual staff and fixed term appointments, as well as permanent staff then working in the Government Offices. The numbers of staff seconded out, on maternity leave and on special leave without pay was as follows:
	
		
			 Governmentoffice Staff seconded out Career breaks Maternity leave Special leave without pay 
		
		
			 London 12 5 2 1 
			 East 4 7 4 0 
			 West Midlands 10 2 8 1 
			 East Midlands 9 2 2 0 
			 North West 17 5 4 0 
			 North East 6 1 2 0 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4 3 4 0 
			 South West 0 0 0 0 
			 South East 18 10 4 0

Robson Brown

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the activities being undertaken by Robson Brown for his Department.

Yvette Cooper: To date Robson Brown have undertaken the design of the Your Say Elected Regional Assemblies logo and supporting material.
	They are also advising the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on the 'Your Say' information campaign.
	Staff from Robson Brown have been assisting with the mounting of events and hearings associated with the campaign throughout the three regions.

Shell Haven Port

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to make a statement on the recommendations of the public inquiry into the proposed Shell Haven Port in the Thames Estuary.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	As the application for the proposed London Gateway port at Shell Haven is for my Department to determine. The Inspector's report of the public inquiry has been recently received in my Department and is now under consideration.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what resources his Department makes available to local authorities for sites of special scientific interest; and how much was made available in 200304.

Phil Hope: Local authorities, along with all public bodies have a duty under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CROW) to take reasonable steps, consistent with the proper exercise of their functions, to further the conservation and enhancement of SSSIs. Local authorities also have responsibilities in respect of SSSIs, especially as planning authorities and as SSSI landowners.
	Most funding for local authorities' revenue expenditure, including for example support for education, social services and their responsibilities in this area, is met through general grant which is made up of Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates. General grant totalled 43.894 million in 200304, which is an increase of 2.449 million or 5.9 per cent. Decisions on spending priorities are a matter for individual authorities taking into account their statutory responsibilities.

Street Furniture

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proposals he has to protect areas of high environmental value from the impact of street furniture.

Keith Hill: Planning Policy Guidance Note 15 recognises that the appearance of historic streets can be improved by preserving or reinstating street furniture of historic or architectural interest.
	A review of permitted development rights was carried out on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners last year. It recommended several changes to the restrictions placed on development using permitted development rights in sensitive areas and those used to install street furniture by statutory undertakers and local authorities. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expect to consult on changes in the summer.
	As part of our on-going work across Government taking forward Living Places: Cleaner, Safer, Greener the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is exploring tools that assist local authorities in managing the street environment, recognising the need or co-ordination between a number of organisations and the involvement of local people.

Your Say Campaign

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what spending limit was placed upon the value of the contract for the Your Say campaign when it was put out for tender.

Nick Raynsford: The contract was placed on a fixed cost, quotation basis. Each component of the work has been costed separately to ensure best value for money.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Anti-social Behaviour Orders

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what training is given to district judges (crime) for dealing with (a) anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) and (b) breaches of ASBOs.

Christopher Leslie: Training for the professional judiciary is the responsibility of the Judicial Studies Board (JSB).
	The JSB has not provided any dedicated training events on ASBOs, but the programme for the core seminars for both full and part-time district judges (magistrates courts) allows scope for discussions on the issues arising in sentencing and breach of orders.
	Professional judges have access to legislation and Home Office guidance relevant to this area of law, and in addition will refer to any developing law. Detailed guidance on ASBOs was issued to magistrates courts by the Home Office in November 2002. Preliminary Home Office guidance on the new Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 has been issued to all magistrates courts in January 2004.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs when he intends to reply to the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 8 January with regard to Mrs. V. Bromage, sent to the Cabinet Office and transferred to his Department.

Christopher Leslie: A reply to my right hon. Friend was signed by Lord Filkin and sent on 22 March.

Departmental Buildings

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what (a) renovation and (b) maintenance projects on buildings (i) owned and (ii) rented by the Department were undertaken in each of the last five years; and what the associated costs were of each.

Christopher Leslie: The information on all projects is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	However, details are available of all schemes with a total project cost of 250,000 and above and these are tabled as follows.
	
		
			   Renovation/Maintenance Rented/Owned 
		
		
			 19992000
			 Cardiff Civil Justice Centre 365,000 Renovation Rented (historic lease) 
			 Cardiff Crown Court 700,000 Maintenance Owned 
			 Chelmsford Crown Court 330,225 Renovation Owned 
			 Inner London Sessions House 1,395,866 Maintenance Owned 
			 Liverpool Combined Court 388,633 Maintenance Owned 
			 Manchester Crown Court 742,605 Maintenance Owned 
			 Manchester Crown Court 203,000 Renovation Owned 
			 Royal Courts of Justice 406,721 Renovation Owned 
			 Swansea County Court 253,575 Renovation Rented 
			 Winchester Combined Court 353,192 Renovation Rented (historic lease) 
			 
			 200001
			 Cardiff Crown Court 361,062 Maintenance Owned 
			 Inner London Sessions House 93,902 Maintenance Owned 
			 Liverpool Combined Court 507,667 Maintenance Owned 
			 Manchester Crown Court 1,145,093 Maintenance Owned 
			 Manchester Crown Court 324,046 Renovation Owned 
			 Royal Courts of Justice 295,000 Renovation Owned 
			 Snaresbrook Crown Court 1,333,742 Maintenance Owned 
			 Swansea County Court 158,346 Renovation Rented 
			 
			 200102
			 Birmingham Civil Justice Centre 236,943 Renovation Rented 
			 Court Service Headquarters 486,000 Renovation Rented 
			 Leeds Combined Court Centre 1,226,118 Renovation Owned 
			 Liverpool Combined Court Centre 250,000 Maintenance Owned 
			 Manchester Crown Court 404,783 Maintenance Owned 
			 Nottingham Crown and County Court 394,751 Renovation Owned 
			 Official Solicitor and Public Trustee 260,000 Renovation Rented 
			 Royal Courts of Justice 363,000 Renovation Owned 
			 Warrington Combined Court Centre 519,000 Renovation Owned 
			 
			 200203
			 Liverpool Combined Court Centre 78,000 Maintenance Owned 
			 Manchester Crown Court 150,492 Maintenance Owned 
			 Nottingham Crown and County Court 167,237 Renovation Owned 
			 Portsmouth Combined Court 527,935 Maintenance Owned 
			 Worcester Combined Court 271,860 Renovation Owned 
			 DCA HQ Estate lift refurbishment (three sites) 294,000  Rented 
			 200304
			 Central Criminal Court 1,057,000 Renovation Rented 
			 Edmonton County Court 503,000 Renovation Owned 
			 Knutsford Crown Court 1,745,000 Maintenance Owned 
			 Portsmouth Combined Court 368,526 Maintenance Owned 
			 Swansea Civil Justice Centre 300,000 Renovation Rented  
			 DCA HQ Estate lift refurbishment (three sites) 102,000  Rented

District Judges (Vacancies)

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether vacancies for district judges (crime) are advertised with reference to a particular work location.

Christopher Leslie: Vacancies for district judges (magistrates courts) are not advertised with reference to a particular work location as district judges have had a national jurisdiction, since the unification of the stipendiary bench in 2000.

Divorces

Steve Webb: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many divorces took place in (a) 1997, (b) 2000 and (c) 2003, disaggregated by the lowest sub-regional level possible.

Christopher Leslie: Figures relating to the number of decrees absolute granted in the county courts of England and Wales during the years requested are provided in a table. A copy has been placed in both Libraries.

Easter Uprising

Paul Marsden: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs for what reason the Public Record Office retained original documents written by those court-martialled following the Dublin uprising in 1916.

Christopher Leslie: The Judge Advocate General's office, which organised these courts martial, formed part of the British administration in Ireland. It took the original decision to preserve documents written by the defendants in these cases on the grounds that they formed an integral part of the court proceedings. It was subsequently decided that the court records as a whole merited permanent preservation because of their historical importance.
	The documents are available for public inspection at the National Archives at Kew, and copies can be supplied.
	Information is held on the National Archives' electronic catalogue, and can be accessed on the internet at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Electoral Registration

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many registered electors for parliamentary elections there were in each year since 1994 in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Alan Whitehead, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the number of registered electors for parliamentary elections in each year from 19942003 in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. (160087)
	Attached is a table showing parliamentary electors for 19942003 inclusive for each of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. From 2001 the annual canvass resulted in registers that came into effect on 1 December, but prior to this they came into effect on 16 February. Due to local elections, Northern Ireland delayed the effective date of their '2003' figures until 2 February 2004.
	
		Parliamentary electors 1994 to 2003
		
			 Year of register(51) Parliamentary electors 
		
		
			 England  
			 1994 36,455,151 
			 1995 36,544,929 
			 1996 36,626,853 
			 1997 36,806,467 
			 1998 36,885,805 
			 1999 36,947,525 
			 2000 36,994,211 
			 2001 37,296,327 
			 2002 37,179,095 
			 2003 36,972,519 
			 Wales  
			 1994 2,222,091 
			 1995 2,220,290 
			 1996 2,217,893 
			 1997 2,222,533 
			 1998 2,230,452 
			 1999 2,227,571 
			 2000 2,232,474 
			 2001 2,235,666 
			 2002 2,225,599 
			 2003 2,219,973 
			 Scotland  
			 1994 3,947,157 
			 1995 3,961,566 
			 1996 3,963,072 
			 1997 3,984,406 
			 1998 3,992,502 
			 1999 4,011,450 
			 2000 3,992,034 
			 2001 3,966,801 
			 2002 3,887,059 
			 2003 3,857,997 
			 Northern Ireland 
			 1994 1,162,335 
			 1995 1,169,423 
			 1996 1,176,927 
			 1997 1,190,198 
			 1998 1,188,034 
			 1999 1,202,339 
			 2000 1,204,721 
			 2001 1,196,970 
			 2002 1,071,600 
			 200304(51) 1,067,564 
		
	
	(51) Up to 2000 data are as at 16 February. From 2001 data are as 1 December, except Northern Ireland where '2003' data are in fact as at 2 February 2004.
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics

National Referendum

Rachel Squire: To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the estimated cost is of holding a national referendum.

Christopher Leslie: No comparative figures are available as the only UK-wide referendum was held in 1975. We would expect the cost to be similar to the cost of a general election. The last General Election with a similar franchise cost approximately 80 million.

Organ Retention

Iris Robinson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the procedure is by which relatives can obtain information on organ retention in cases following a coroner's post mortem.

Christopher Leslie: Currently in all coroners' cases in which it has proved necessary to retain organs, relatives are informed in writing.
	Relatives also have the option of phoning the Human Organs Enquiry Line, which was established in November 2002 as recommended in the Northern Ireland Human Organ Inquiry Report. A direct enquiry can also be made to the Coroner who ordered the post-mortem examination.

Postal Voting

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what safeguards he is proposing to put in place to deter electoral fraud following the introduction of all postal voting.

Christopher Leslie: Postal voting has been available for many years and since 2000 has been available on demand. There are several safeguards in place for this, a Declaration of Identity as well as a variety of offences including personation and undue influence. For the all-postal pilots in June this year, the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Bill builds on existing sanctions, by extending the offence of personation to be an arrestable offence outside polling stations and also by allowing the time limit for investigating electoral offences to be extended, along with a range of practical measures, in partnership with electoral administrators and other key stakeholders, to address potential fraud. Returning Officers can perform checks, including random inspection of Declaration of Identities and the checking of signatures against those already on file or investigating where more than a certain number of ballot papers are sent to or redirected to one address. This is building on the experience gained during a series of successful pilots at local elections.

Review of Tribunals

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans he has to bring into effect in Northern Ireland the recommendations of the Leggatt Report on the Review of Tribunals.

Christopher Leslie: Sir Andrew Leggatt's report made a number of recommendations in relation to tribunal reform. The Government will issue its response to these recommendations set in the wider context of reforming the Administrative Justice System in a White Paper later this year. Consideration is currently being given to the implications of Sir Andrew Leggatt's Report for Northern Ireland.

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the principal categories of claim which are heard in the small claims track are.

David Lammy: The categories of claims made in the small claims track for which the department collects certain information are debt, personal injury, other negligence and non-possession housing disputes.

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many claims for return of tenancy deposits were heard in the small claims track in 200203.

David Lammy: The information requested is not collected centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost to the department.

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps his Department has taken to assess whether charging fees for the recovery of small claims in the small claims track has a deterrent effect on claimants.

Christopher Leslie: The first step when setting fees is to ensure that the size of the fee is proportionate to cost. This means that even the smallest claim attracts a fee of 30. The second step is to ensure (by means of claim bands) that fees are proportionate to the amount at stake. The third step is to provide protection for those unable to pay. Exemption is available for those on means tested benefits and discretionary remission (based on hardship) for those not qualifying. Finally, the successful litigant may recover his fee from the losing party.
	If a litigant is deterred from issuing proceedings this is most likely to be because he is unsure of winning or because he is unsure that the losing party has the means to pay.
	When court fees are increased there is always a consultation process. Consultation has shown that the probability of successful recovery is just as important to potential litigants as the size of fees. Relatively low fees are payable on defended small claims because the cost is shared by those with claims that are not defended. The cost of undefended small claims is the concern of most claimants.

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will encourage the the small claims track to sit in neighbourhood premises to determine groups of local cases.

David Lammy: Cases in the small claims track are heard throughout a network of 218 county courts across the country. The present arrangements for hearing cases in the small claims track are considered adequate to meet the needs of local and public interest and in providing access to justice.

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans he has for improving access for the socially excluded to the small claims track.

David Lammy: One of our Departmental Public Service Agreement targets (PSA6) is to increase year-on-year the number of people who receive suitable assistance in the priority areas of law involving fundamental rights or social exclusion. We are increasing the capacity of the Community Legal Service and all advice and guidance services through closer co-operation and collaboration within the advice sector.
	Access to justice is protected by automatic exemption of fees for litigants on specified means tested benefits and discretionary remission (in part or full) for those who do not benefit from exemption but would face exceptional hardship if required to pay fees, or required to pay them in full. There are no current plans to review this policy.

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many defendants in the small claims track defaulted on orders for money judgments in 200203; and how many such judgments were enforced by the court after defaults in that year.

David Lammy: The department does not hold information centrally concerning defendants who default on money judgments in the small claims track, and it can be provided only at disproportionate cost. For information, figures for enforcement of judgments in 200203, irrespective of track, are contained in the table. These figures do not take into account whether or not they were issued because the defendant defaulted on a money judgment.
	
		
			 Enforcement proceedings 200203 
		
		
			 Warrant of execution against goods issued 373,257 
			 Third party debt orders issued 5,828 
			 Charging order applications issued 32,117 
			 Attachment of Earnings order-judgment debt 40,029

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to his Written Ministerial Statement of 22 March 2004, Official Report, column 41WS, what the mechanism will be by which magistrates courts will conduct blitzes against fine defaulters; and by what mechanism the efficacy of such blitzes will be evaluated.

Christopher Leslie: The national fines initiative referred to in my Written Ministerial Statement of 22 March 2004, Official Report, column 41WS, is Operation Payback National guidance was issued to assist courts in planning, but the scope and process of the local operations was determined by individual Justices' Chief Executives, according to local circumstances. Courts identified particular dates and areas for their action, and then, assisted by the police, concentrated all their enforcement resources in the targeted areas for the duration of their local operations.
	The magistrates courts who have taken part in Operation Payback have been asked to provide a core set of data, including the number of warrants progressed, amount of money collected and the number of Civilian Enforcement Officers and police involved. This will allow us to assess the effectiveness of the Operation at both a national and regional level.

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the purpose is of charging fees for (a) applicants and (b) defendants in the Small Claims Court.

David Lammy: Four fees may become payable during the course of a defended small claim. The fee on issue of the claim, the fee on a counterclaim, the fee on allocation to track, and the fee on making a specific application. In all cases the purpose of the fee is the same, namely to recover cost.
	It would be administratively convenient to recover the extra cost of applications simply by increasing claim fees. However there is a danger that if applications did not attract fees the time of the court and the parties would be wasted by unnecessary applications.
	A claimant who forces a defendant to make an application to the court by unreasonably refusing to hand over information risks having to pay the fee. A defendant who makes an unnecessary application is unlikely to recover the fee.
	The charging of fees on applications therefore promotes co-operation between the parties and helps to ensure that the time of the court and the parties is not wasted by unnecessary applications.

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will make the forms for application to the small claims track available in (a) citizens' advice bureaux and (b) other neighbourhood premises.

David Lammy: Claim forms are available to the citizens' advice bureaux and all other advice agencies through any county court and via the Court Service website.

Small Claims

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the minimum number of trips to the small claims track is which an applicant must take to make a claim and recover judgment.

David Lammy: It is possible for a claimant to make a small claim and recover judgment without having to attend court.

HEALTH

Access to Medical Notes

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will outline the position regarding access to medical notes by a patient's (a) next of kin and (b) other first degree relatives.

Rosie Winterton: Access to health records of living patients is governed by the Data Protection Act 1998. Where a patient is a competent adult, access should normally only be given with the patient's consent. Special provisions apply for adults who are incapacitated and for children. Where a patient has died, access to their record is governed by the Access to Health Records Act 1990. The Act provides the right for a deceased person's personal representative and any person with a claim arising out of the patient's death to apply for access.

Ambulance Staff

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health at what age ambulance personnel are able to retire on a full pension; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Ambulance staff who are members of the national health service pension scheme and have two years or more pensionable service can retire from employment in the NHS at age 60 with immediate payment of pension. Ambulance staff with 40 years pensionable service will receive a full pension equivalent to half their final year's pensionable pay.

Blood Transfusion

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the roles are of (a) his advisory committees, (b) the serious hazards of transfusion body and (c) the National Patient Safety Agency in reducing the risks associated with blood transfusion.

Melanie Johnson: The expert advisory committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues for Transplantation (MSBT) is responsible for providing the Government with advice on blood safety issues.
	The Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) reporting system has two main objectives: to collect data on serious adverse events involving the transfusion of blood components; and to make recommendations to improve transfusion safety, based on the analysis of the collected data. The national medical co-ordinator of SHOT is a member of MSBT.
	The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) was established to improve the safety of national health service patient care by promoting an open and fair culture and by introducing a new national reporting and learning system for patient safety incidents. The reporting system is being implemented across the NHS during 2004.
	The NPSA has worked with SHOT in establishing ways of reducing errors associated with bedside blood transfusions, in establishing the underlying causes of, and in identifying effective ways of collecting data on, these errors, to help ensure that they do not recur. The NPSA will be working with SHOT and others on establishing ways of preventing error, using interventions like bar-coding and tagging systems.

Cancer Services

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve the speed of access to radiography for cancer patients.

Melanie Johnson: To reduce the amount of time patients have to wait for radiography, we are making major investment in replacement and additional scanners and linear accelerators, recruiting and training additional radiographers and streamlining care processes through the cancer services collaborative improvement partnership.

Cancer Services

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will implement all of the recommendations contained in the National Audit Office report Tackling Cancer in England: Saving More Lives.

Melanie Johnson: The Department welcomes the National Audit Office report, Tackling Cancer in England: Saving More Lives, and will take the report's recommendations into account as we further develop and improve cancer services. The report will be discussed in detail at a Committee of Public Accounts hearing scheduled for 16 June 2004. Sir Nigel Crisp, chief executive of the national health service and Professor Mike Richards, national cancer director, have been called to give evidence at the hearing. The Government will respond to the Committee's subsequent report in the form of a Treasury minute.

Child Alcohol-Related Problems

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged between 11 and 15 years were admitted to hospital in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough owing to alcohol-related problems in each of the last six years.

John Hutton: Figures are not available by London borough. The table shows data by health authority in the London area.
	
		Primary diagnosis (ICD-10 F10, K70, T51) alcohol related illness. Age on admission 1115 years. Region of treatment north and south Thames 199798 and 199899/London 19992000 to 200203 (see note below). Count of finished admission episodes by health authority of treatment. NHS hospitals, 199798 to 200203
		
			 Finished admission episodes  
			 Health authority of treatment 199798 199899 19992000 200001 200102 200203 
		
		
			 QA2 Hillingdon 37 29 12 10 15 8 
			 QA3 Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster 17 8 8 10 10 15 
			 QA4 Enfield and Haringey 17 10 * *   
			 QA5 Redbridge and Waltham Forest 9 14 7 7 10 8 
			 QAA Bexley and Greenwich 16 14 29 20   
			 QAC Bromley 8 7 * *   
			 QAD Croydon 12 17 12 17 19 13 
			 QAG Kingston and Richmond   15 45 47 39 
			 QAH Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham 40 18 23 15 20 32 
			 QAJ Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth 73 53 58 56 58 67 
			 QAP Barking and Havering 14 14 6 14 16 32 
			 QAQ Barnet 10 7 40 43   
			 QAR Brent and Harrow 16 13 17 23 16 8 
			 QAT Camden and Islington 21 14 26 19 12 28 
			 QAV Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow 7 16 19 13 23 23 
			 QAW East London and The City 7 9 19 9 16 18 
			 QEW Barnet Enfield and Haringey 28 38 
			 QEY Bexley Bromley and Greenwich 19 27 
			 Regional Total 304 243 297 310 309 356 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are not available for Greater London and each London borough and so data based on health authority (HA) of treatment has been provided. Due to organisational changes, information is given for North Thames and South Thames regional offices in the 199798 and 199899 data years and the London regional office in the 19992000 to 200203 data years.
	2. Since North and South Thames regions cover a greater area than the London region, HAs clearly outside of London have been omitted from this list (HA Codes QAE, QAF, QAK, QAL, QAM, QAN, QAX, QAY, QEP, QEQ).
	3. Data has been derived for 200203 based on regions and HAs that existed in 200102. This is an attempt to provide continuity in the data provided, but caution should still be applied when looking at trends over time.
	4. Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 200102 and 200203, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
	5. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 200203) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	6. Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with '*'
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Chorley Hospital

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital (a) nurses and (b) doctors were victims of violence from patients in Chorley hospital in each of the last five years.

Melanie Johnson: Information is not collected on the identity of attackers. For information on the number of attacks on staff, I refer my hon. Friend to the response I gave him on 29 March 2004, Official Report, columns 122021W.

Chorley Hospital

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants there were on average in the accident and emergency department in Chorley hospital in each of the last three years.

Melanie Johnson: Information is gathered on a trust basis. Information for the Chorley and South Ribble National health service Trust and the Preston Acute NHS Trust for 2001 and the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for 2002 and 2003 is shown in the table.
	
		Hospital, Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services (HCHS): Consultants with an accident and emergency specialty in the Chorley Area
		
			  Number (headcount) 
			 England, as at 30 September 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust 3   
			 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 5   
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust  7 7 
		
	
	Source
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.

Community Hospitals

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned on the movement of NHS staff into and out of the community hospitals at (a) Townlands, (b) Wallingford, (c) Abingdon, (d) Wantage, (e) Watlington and (f) Didcot.

Rosie Winterton: No research has been commissioned on the movement of national health service staff into and out of these community hospitals.

Community Hospitals

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the retention rate of staff was in the latest period for which figures are available at the community hospitals at (a) Townlands, (b) Wallingford, (c) Abingdon, (d) Wantage, (e) Watlington and (f) Didcot.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to provide funding for research on the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy;
	(2)  what plans he has to ring-fence funding for Duchenne muscular dystrophy research;
	(3)  what amount will be spent on researching treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy over the next five years.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 29 March 2004
	On 29 March 2004, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that the researchers supported by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign were successful in their bid for research funding. They have been awarded 1.6 million to fund research to underpin the development of a novel gene therapy treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Ethical and Environmental Investment Policies

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 12 January 2004, Official Report, column 603W, on ethical and environmental investment policies, whether this information will be (a) automatically sent to the foundation hospital trusts and (b) sent on request.

John Hutton: I refer my hon. Friend to my response of 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 177W.

Ethical and Environmental Investment Policies

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 12 January 2004, Official Report, column 603W, on ethical and environmental investment policies, if he will set minimum standards for the ethical and environmental investments.

John Hutton: I refer my hon. Friend to my response of 10 February 2004, Official Report, column 1410W.

Foundation Trusts (Governorship Elections)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that the membership is announced in advance of any foundation trust governorship election; and what guidance he is providing to trusts on this matter.[R]

John Hutton: The Public Benefit Corporation (Register of Members) Regulations 2004 were laid in Parliament on 5 March 2004. Subject to Parliamentary approval, they come into force on 1 April 2004 and set out how trusts should maintain registers of members once they have been authorised by the regulator. Registers are to be made public other than in the circumstances set out in the Regulations. The obligation to keep a public register of members only arises once a National health service trust receives an authorisation from the independent regulator to be a NHS foundation trust. Guidance on interpretation of the Regulations has been provided to all NHS trusts applying for NHS foundation trust status.

Foundation Trusts (Governorship Elections)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for forthcoming elections to the boards of governors of foundation trusts.[R]

John Hutton: The timetable for elections to the board of governors is a matter for each applicant national health service trust. The Department has issued model rules and guidance and these are available in the Library. The Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 provides for the commencement of elections once a trust has made an application to the regulator. The independent regulator is responsible for ensuring that a NHS foundation trust's constitution, including its provisions for carrying out elections, is in accordance with the requirements of the Act.

General Medical Services Contract

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the quality and outcomes framework of the General Medical Services contract will be subject to review.

John Hutton: An independent, United Kingdom-wide review group will be established by the end of this year and will review the quality and outcomes framework (QOF) from then. This will be an ongoing process. Any changes to the QOF of the new general medical services contract will be negotiated and agreed between the NHS Confederation and the British Medical Association.

General Practitioners

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners per head of population there were in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear, (d) the North East and (e) England in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: The Department collects figures by primary care trust (PCT) only, not by constituency .The number of unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPE) per head of population in South Tyneside PCT and primary care group (PCG) since 1999 and in Tyne and Wear, the North East and England since 1997 are shown in the table.
	
		Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (52) (UPEs) per 100,000 patients for England, South Tyneside PCG/PCT,Tyne and Wear and the North East
		
			 Number (headcount) 
			 North East 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 England 53 54 54 54 54 54 55 
			 South Tyneside PCG n/a n/a 51 51 n/a n/a n/a 
			 South Tyneside PCT 52 52 52 
			 Tyne and Wear (53) 53 53 54 55 57 59 61 
			 North East 53 53 54 55 56 57 59 
		
	
	n/a = not available.
	(52) Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs) includes GMS Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents, PMS Contracted GPs and PMS Salaried GPs.
	(53) The first PCTs were established in 2001, data previous to this was collected by health authorities figures for South Tyneside PCG appear comparable to South Tyneside PCT.
	Sources:
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

General Practitioners

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients were offered a first appointment with a general practitioner within two working days in (a) Crosby and (b) England in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: Data on the availability of appointments to see a general practitioner has been collected since September 2001. Since then, there has been great progress in offering patients the opportunity to see a GP quickly and the overwhelming majority of patients (nationally 96 per cent. at January 2004) can now see a GP within two working days. Data for England, for South Sefton and Southport and Formby primary care trusts (PCTs) and for the former Sefton Health Authority (HA) are shown in the table.
	
		Percentage of patients being offered an appointment with a GP within 48 hours
		
			  England South Sefton PCT Southport and Formby PCT 
		
		
			 January 2004 96.4 90.0 100.0 
			 March 2003 88.2 90.4 100.0 
			 1 March 2002(54) 74.6 78.0 (55) 
			 September 2001(54) 80.1 67.0 (55) 
		
	
	(54) Data collected between September 2001 and March 2002 are based on the percentage of practices, not patients and are not strictly comparable but are included here for completeness.
	(55) Sefton HA results cover both PCTs.

Health Promotion England

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2004, Official Report, column 856W, on Health Promotion England, what happened to the underspends.

Melanie Johnson: Health Promotion England was funded from the Department's central budget programme in 200001 and 200102. Typically, underspends from individual budgets within the programme would have been available for redeployment across the remainder of the central budget programme.
	The fact that individual budgets within the overall central budget programme show underspends or overspends against individual allocations is not significant. The large central revenue programmes are managed, controlled and reconciled through the use of overall budget envelopes rather than on a specific budget or area basis.

Health Visitors

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the vacancy rates were for health visitors in Greater London, broken down by health trust, for each year since 1997.

John Hutton: Information on three-month vacancy rates is only available from 1999 and has been placed in the Library.

Isolation Facilities

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2004, Official Report, column 1819W, on Healthcare Associated Infections (Deaths), what monitoring his Department will undertake of the provision of isolation facilities in NHS hospitals and the timetable for their implementation.

Melanie Johnson: Progress on provision of isolation facilities is one of the actions that the strategic health authorities will monitor and the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection will also assess progress as part of the new performance indicator, Winning Waysprocesses and procedures.

Mental Health Services

Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of (a) psychiatrists, (b) nurses and (c) other staff groups working in mental health services are from an ethnic minority group in each strategic health authority area of England.

John Hutton: The information is shown in the table.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Total ethnic minority groups1 of doctors in the psychiatry group, qualified nursing and qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff within the specified areas by Strategic Health Authority area in England as at 30September 2003 -- Percentage
		
			 Qualified nursing staff 
			  All doctors in the psychiatry group Consultants All qualified nurses in mental health Community psychiatry 
		
		
			  
			 England 37.6 22.0 18.6 15.2 
			  
			 Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SNA 37.4 20.3 8.9 8.7 
			 Q02 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA 56.9 38.9 40.8 40.0 
			 Q03 Essex SHA 57.7 34.3 23.4 15.8 
			 Q04 North West London SHA 43.0 20.4 57.7 47.5 
			 Q05 North Central London SHA 26.2 10.8 57.0 53.4 
			 Q06 North East London SHA 40.2 23.1 60.0 45.7 
			 Q07 South East London SHA 33.4 21.8 53.2 48.5 
			 Q08 South West London SHA 37.8 19.2 55.9 51.3 
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear SHA 23.8 13.3 1.3 2.0 
			 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 26.5 23.8 1.1 2.2 
			 Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire SHA 26.3 6.5 1.5 1.4 
			 Q12 West Yorkshire SHA 37.6 17.6 8.7 7.1 
			 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 39.7 21.5 2.7 1.4 
			 Q14 Greater Manchester SHA 36.7 20.0 10.2 10.3 
			 Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 39.1 21.0 5.2 4.0 
			 Q16 Thames Valley SHA 32.3 17.0 21.6 14.4 
			 Q17 Hampshire and Isle of Wight SHA 23.1 10.0 7.6 5.4 
			 Q18 Kent and Medway SHA 55.1 34.7 21.0 16.3 
			 Q19 Surrey and Sussex SHA 43.0 34.6 31.1 17.2 
			 Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA 18.3 8.0 7.9 5.8 
			 Q21 South West Peninsula SHA 13.9 4.9 1.0 0.7 
			 Q22 Dorset and Somerset SHA 17.4 12.5 6.2 1.8 
			 Q23 South Yorkshire SHA 43.8 30.8 4.9 3.3 
			 Q24 Trent SHA 36.7 20.0 7.5 8.8 
			 Q25 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA 49.6 36.6 15.7 16.3 
			 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA 45.9 20.0 2.9 1.6 
			 Q27 Birmingham and The Black Country SHA 60.7 45.5 23.0 16.0 
			 Q28 West Midlands South SHA 48.7 32.5 10.3 5.3 
		
	
	
		
			Qualified nursing staff  Qualified STT 
			  Other psychiatry Community learning disabilities Other learning disabilities Clinical psychology staff Psychotherapy staff 
		
		
			 England 22.0 9.6 14.5 7.4 8.1 
			   
			 Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SNA 9.7 6.9 6.1 3.3 0.0 
			 Q02 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA 54.0 36.2 13.9 8.9 7.1 
			 Q03 Essex SHA 30.0 11.1 27.0 10.0 7.7 
			 Q04 North West London SHA 59.9 46.3 75.0 14.1 13.1 
			 Q05 North Central London SHA 59.2 23.5 50.8 16.4 9.6 
			 Q06 North East London SHA 68.2 51.1 74.2 17.0 14.3 
			 Q07 South East London SHA 57.1 29.3 52.4 16.0 19.2 
			 Q08 South West London SHA 59.6 20.8 50.5 9.2 4.4 
			 Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear SHA 1.4 0.0 0.9 1.1 0.0 
			 Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 0.9 0.0 1.6 0.0 0.0 
			 Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire SHA 1.3 1.0 4.0 3.7 0.0 
			 Q12 West Yorkshire SHA 10.9 2.0 5.7 4.4 6.9 
			 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 3.8 1.3 2.5 7.0 0.0 
			 Q14 Greater Manchester SHA 11.5 2.8 2.3 3.4 0.0 
			 Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 5.7 4.4 5.5 4.3 0.0 
			 Q16 Thames Valley SHA 27.1 13.6 15.2 3.9 0.0 
			 Q17 Hampshire and Isle of Wight SHA 9.1 3.7 8.1 1.9 9.1 
			 Q18 Kent and Medway SHA 25.3 11.3 21.3 3.9 3.3 
			 Q19 Surrey and Sussex SHA 34.3 22.6 49.5 5.7 5.1 
			 Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA 9.3 2.6 6.9 2.0 0.0 
			 Q21 South West Peninsula SHA 1.4 0.0 0.5 2.1 0.0 
			 Q22 Dorset and Somerset SHA 8.1 0.0 9.5 4.7 0.0 
			 Q23 South Yorkshire SHA 5.3 12.9 2.0 3.2 5.9 
			 Q24 Trent SHA 7.5 4.0 7.0 5.2 11.5 
			 Q25 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA 19.7 0.0 8.7 8.9 8.3 
			 Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA 3.8 1.7 6.2 2.8 0.0 
			 Q27 Birmingham and The Black Country SHA 25.2 20.3 27.8 14.3 11.1 
			 Q28 West Midlands South SHA 14.3 6.4 12.4 5.4 0.0 
		
	
	(56) Percentages are calculated on staff whose ethnic group is known and are based on staff expressed as a headcount.
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census.

MRSA Bacterium

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many strains of the MRSA bacterium have been isolated.

Melanie Johnson: The total number of strains is not known, but the Health Protection Agency receives around 7,000 methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains a year for typing on a voluntary basis to assist in the investigation of serious disease and outbreak investigation and control. Most hospital outbreaks in the United Kingdom are due to epidemic strains of MRSA, which can spread from person to person. A total of 17 epidemic strains have been identified in the UK to date and two strains, EMRSA 15 and EMRSA 16, predominate.

National Care Standards Commission

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of setting up the National Care Standards Commission was.

Stephen Ladyman: Fixed assets were acquired for the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) by the Department during 200102 and those were transferred into the accounts of the NCSC from 1 April 2002 at a transfer value of 44.943 million. The programme revenue spend on setting the NCSC up was 4.665 million. In addition, the cost of civil servants working on setting the Commission up was 1.423 million. When the NCSC was abolished on 1 April 2004, its assets were transferred to the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection, which took over the regulation of social and independent healthcare, respectively, on that day.

Dentistry

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends to take to deal with shortages of NHS dentists in Gloucestershire; and if he will make a statement on NHS dentistry in Gloucestershire.

Rosie Winterton: We have provided new investment totalling 90 million to national health service dentistry over the last year. 59 million will support access, and strategic health authorities (SHAs) have been advised of their shares and are working with their primary care trusts (PCTs), including those in Gloucestershire, to address access issues. 30 million is to support information technology and the balance of 1 million will support organisational development locally.
	In Gloucestershire, the existing dental access centres offer emergency and routine dental treatmentthis is prioritised according to patients' needs and the demands placed on the service.
	All the PCTs in Gloucestershire have been invited by Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA to submit proposals to improve access to dental care, funded through the SHA's 2 million share of the access funding. They are also exploring the possibility of establishing an outreach-teaching pilot for dental and dental therapy students with Bristol University.
	West Gloucestershire PCT is one of the 16 PCTs in England with which the shadow NHS dentistry support team is working. The support team has made several visits to Gloucestershire towards the end of 2003, and an action plan to establish new dental practices in Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean, and Gloucester City will be agreed by the end of April 2004. Additionally, work is under way to explore the potential for overseas recruitment in Gloucestershire.
	Cheltenham and Tewkesbury and Cotswold and Vale PCTs are taking similar action, and are inviting all dental practices to participate and submit proposals for use of the extra resources available in 200405.

Dentistry

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to (a) support and (b) promote NHS dentistry in Chorley.

Melanie Johnson: Over the past two years, Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust (PCT) has invested an additional 90,000 in capital development and equipment for dental practices in return for a specific undertaking from the relevant practices to increase national health service registrations. Additionally, the PCT has increased the number of people working in personal dental services in the area and invested additional capital funding to enable the existing community dental service premises to provide an additional dental surgery. The PCT is currently developing a dental action plan which will further promote NHS dentistry in Chorley and South Ribble.
	Nationally, we have provided new investment totalling 90 million to NHS dentistry over the last year. 59 million will support access, and strategic health authorities have been advised of their shares and are working with their PCTs, including Chorley and South Ribble, to address access issues. 30 million is to support information technology and the balance of 1 million will support organisational development locally.

Dentistry

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proposals his Department has to increase the number of dentists in training; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what representations he has received regarding shortages of NHS dentists; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: We have been undertaking the first dental workforce review since 1987, in which stakeholders, including representatives of strategic health authorities, dental schools, and the British Dental Association participated and gave their views. We will be publishing the report shortly. We are also currently reviewing the number of undergraduate places in dentistry in the context of the current Government Spending Review.

NHS Trust Boards

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is his policy that NHS trust board meetings should be open to the public; and what guidance he issues on circumstances under which meetings may be held in private.

John Hutton: All national health service trust board meetings should normally be held in public, under the terms of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960. Guidance on the circumstances in which boards may go into closed sessions is contained in Health Service Circular 1998/207, a copy of which is available in the Library.

NHS University

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made with the NHS University project; how much money has been allocated to the NHS University project in each of the last three financial years; and who the executive postholders of the NHS University project are.

John Hutton: NHSU has moved through a number of stages of development. It has consulted widely across the national health service and social care on its development plan, Learning for Everyone, the results of which fed into NHSU's first strategic plan, launched in December 2003. At this point NHSU was officially constituted as a special health authority.
	NHSU has also been piloting and launching a range of programmesincluding an induction programme. Working for the NHS and First Contact, a programme that equips nurses and other healthcare professionals to act as the first point of contact for patients. NHSU has also launched its telephone helpline service for learning opportunities for staff (Ui).
	NHSU received its first allocation of 10 million in 200203. A further allocation of 30 million was made in 200304.
	The chief executive and vice chancellor designate of NHSU is Professor Bob Fryer CBE. NHSU has three group directors; Neil Johnson (director of learning programmes and services), Derek Grover (director of distributed learning) and Jeffrey Defries (director of corporate services). Sue Eggleton is director of resources and planning.

Out-of-Hours Services

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new resources (a) were budgeted for and (b) will be made available to primary care trusts specifically to help them meet their obligations to provide out-of-hours services.

John Hutton: Additional resources of 110 million over three years from 200304 have been announced to help fund primary care trust (PCT) re-provision of out-of-hours services. The 110 million is in addition to the average of about 6,000 that will be released for each general practitioner who opts outor some 180 million if all GPs opt out.
	A further 28 million (across 200405 and 200506) is being made available for those PCTs facing the biggest challenges in developing their out-of-hours services; plus up to an additional 30 million in incentive payments will be allocated in 200405 to reward them for the planning and delivery of a high quality, sustainable service.

Public Health

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on advertising of the dangers of (a) smoking, (b) poor diet and (c) alcohol in each year since 1997.

Melanie Johnson: Prior to 19992000 the Health Education Authority ran the public education campaign on the dangers of smoking. The Department of Health took over this work in December 1999.
	The figures in the table show advertising expenditure on the dangers of smoking from 19992000 to date.
	
		
			  Expenditure ( million) 
		
		
			 19992000 6.18 
			 200001 8.97 
			 200102 7.79 
			 200203 7.88 
			 200304 17.76 
		
	
	There has been no expenditure by the Department on advertising the dangers of poor diet or alcohol during this period.
	However, the Department is taking action to ensure that people have access to healthy diets. In 200203, funding for the Department of Health-led programmes aimed at improving children's diet totalled 140.98 million and the Food Standards Agency has provided 0.58 million. An additional 9.83 million has been provided to support a range of projects, including community based programmes.
	In addition to the above, local nutrition initiatives are funded through health action zones, sure start, healthy living centres and through general funding allocations to health authorities and primary care trusts, on which information is not collected centrally. The Department has also funded health promotion work in these areas from centrally held budgets, including campaign literature, helpline and website advice. Local national health service agencies are responsible for local health promotion work. The funds they spend on this work form part of their general budgets and no breakdown of these funds is centrally available.
	The Government's alcohol harm reduction strategy for England was published on 15 March 2004. It contains recommendations for action to improve Government communications on alcohol misuse, including the ways in which the Government inform the public of the dangers of alcohol misuse. The Department will be leading the work on taking these recommendations forward.

Semiconductor Industry (Cancer)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the incidence of cancer among workers within the semiconductor industry.

Des Browne: I have been asked to reply.
	In December 2001, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a report that set out the findings of a study into the cancer incidence and mortality of current and former workers at the National Semiconductor plant in Greenock. As a result of that investigation, HSE has developed a specification for further investigation of the findings at Greenock which it is discussing with the company and its workforce. The HSE has also established a feasibility study to investigate whether an industry-wide study can be undertaken.

Skin Disease

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to add inflammatory skin diseases to the quality and outcomes framework of the General Medical Services contract.

John Hutton: Changes to the quality and outcomes framework (QOF) of the new general medical services contract will be negotiated between the NHS Confederation and the British Medical Association, following recommendations from an independent, United Kingdom-wide review group. The independent review group will decide what disease areas to consider for addition to the QOF.

Smoking

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the evaluation being carried out by the NHS to verify whether those who stop smoking through the NHS stop smoking services have managed to remain non-smokers will be (a) completed and (b) published.

Melanie Johnson: The Department has funded an evaluation of the national health service stop smoking services programme, which is being carried out by a team led by Glasgow University.
	The pilot study fieldwork is now complete and the research team which undertook the evaluation is currently writing up its findings. These will be published later this year.

Speech Therapy

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many school-age children were receiving speech therapy in each of the primary care trust areas in Greater London in each year since 1997 in the (a) primary and (b) secondary sector;
	(2)  how many pre-school children were receiving speech therapy in each of the primary care trust areas in Greater London in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: Information is not available in the form requested. Information about children receiving speech therapy is available by service provider and not by primary care trust area, and does not distinguish primary from secondary sector provision. The available data for 200203 are shown in the table. Information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		Initial contacts (new episodes of care) with speech therapy services, by age and trust, London 200203
		
			   Age 
			 Strategic Health Authority/Provider Trust Trust type 04 515 
		
		
			 London  17,100 16,520 
			 North Central London  3,420 3,790 
			 Barnet PCT 590 920 
			 Enfield PCT 320 440 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHST 580 420 
			 Haringey PCT 620 880 
			 Islington PCT 1,310 1,130 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHST 0 10 
			 University College London Hospitals NHST 0 0 
			 
			 North East London  4,030 2,600 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 750 450 
			 Barts and The London NHST 130 60 
			 City and Hackney PCT 580 0 
			 Homerton Hospital NHST 0 0 
			 Newham PCT 890 1,220 
			 Redbridge PCT 340 160 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 740 450 
			 Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone PCT 600 260 
			 
			 North West London  2,670 1,580 
			 Brent PCT 390 380 
			 Central and NW London Mental Health NHST 0 0 
			 Ealing PCT 580 250 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 260 120 
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHST 120 80 
			 Harrow PCT 0 0 
			 Hillingdon PCT 220 120 
			 Hillingdon Hospital NHST 0 40 
			 Hounslow PCT 200 130 
			 Kensington and Chelsea PCT 90 50 
			 North West London NHST 510 240 
			 Royal Marsden NHST 0 10 
			 St. Mary's NHST 150 40 
			 West London Mental Health NHST 0 0 
			 Westminster PCT 140 110 
			 
			 South East London  3,760 4,000 
			 Bromley PCT 750 290 
			 Greenwich PCT 520 250 
			 Guy's and St.Thomas' Hospital NHST 0 0 
			 King's College Hospital NHST 40 20 
			 Lambeth PCT 750 1,210 
			 Lewisham PCT 590 950 
			 Oxleas NHST 470 270 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHST 0 0 
			 South London and Maudsley NHST 0 0 
			 Southwark PCT 630 1,020 
			 
			 South west London  3,230 4,560 
			 Croydon PCT 700 1,210 
			 Kingston PCT 300 250 
			 SW London and St. George's Mental Health NHST 0 0 
			 Sutton and Merton PCT 1,200 1,780 
			 Wandsworth PCT 1,030 1,320 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All trusts that provide speech therapy services are shown; some may provide services principally for adults.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10; 0 means fewer than 5 cases in the year.
	Source:
	DH Statistics Division; return KT29.

Speech Therapy

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many pre-school children were diagnosed as needing speech therapy in each of the primary care trust areas in Greater London in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many school-age children were diagnosed as needing speech therapy in each of the primary care trust areas in Greater London in each year since 1997 in the (a) primary and (b) secondary sector.

John Hutton: No data are held centrally about the number of school-age children diagnosed as needing speech therapy.

St. Jude Silzone Heart Valve

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information and statistics he has collated about complications experienced by recipients of the St. Jude Silzone heart valve; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) receives reports of adverse incidents involving medical devices, including heart valves, though a voluntary user reporting system and mandatory manufacturer vigilance reporting system as required by the Medical Devices Directive. Information on deaths and valve explantations is also collected by the UK Heart Valve Registry and is made available to clinicians.
	Approximately 1,300 Silzone* mechanical heart valves were distributed in the United Kingdom between its introduction in 1997 and its withdrawal from use in January 2000. The main problems associated with Silzone* heart valves were increased risk of blood clotting complications, such as stroke, and leakage around the valve. The MHRA was originally alerted to this problem by a report of seven incidents of such complications among a series of 51 patients implanted with Silzone heart valves at one UK centre. The MHRA has since received only a small number of reports associated with the Silzone* valve. A clinical study sponsored by the manufacturer, St. Jude Medical, confirmed the MHRA's finding that the risk of complications was higher with this valve than in valves without the Silzone* coating, but showed that the increased risk occurred only in the first few months after implantation. Consequently, patients who remain implanted with this valve are now at no greater risk from complications than recipients of uncoated valves.

Suicide Bereavement

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has conducted into the costs and benefits of establishing a national suicide bereavement response strategy.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has commissioned the York Centre for reviews and dissemination to undertake a review of evidence regarding interventions to help people bereaved by suicide. The review is due to report its findings in summer 2004 and will support implementation of objective 2.8 of the national suicide prevention strategy for England.

Tuberculosis

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new cases of TB were reported in England in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by health authority.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 15 March 2004
	The number of tuberculosis cases, reported by strategic health authority (SHA) in England 2001 through enhanced TB surveillance, is shown in the table.
	
		
			 SHA TB cases reported 
		
		
			 Birmingham and Black Country 535 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 40 
			 West Midlands South 104 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 417 
			 Trent 178 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 165 
			 Essex 72 
			 Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 83 
			 South Yorkshire 135 
			 West Yorkshire 352 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 59 
			 Northumberland Tyne and Wear 101 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 61 
			 Greater Manchester 381 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 177 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 93 
			 North East London 628 
			 North Central London 505 
			 South East London 414 
			 South West London 235 
			 North West London 940 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 60 
			 Thames Valley 191 
			 Surrey and Sussex 119 
			 Kent and Medway 74 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 108 
			 South West Peninsula 60 
			 Dorset and Somerset 42 
		
	
	Note:
	85 cases could not be matched from local authority data to SHA data.

TREASURY

World Debt

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Chancellor of Exchequer, if he will make a statement on his policy towards the cancellation of debt in the world's poorest countries.

John Healey: The UK Government continues to be absolutely committed to the rapid and full implementation of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiativeto ensuring that it delivers as much debt relief as possible under the current framework.
	The UK goes even further than is required under the HIPC initiative and is committed to providing 100 per cent. debt relief to eligible HIPC countries.
	But we must ensure that the HIPC initiative is completed, that topping up is provided where necessary for countries to achieve the 150 per cent. debt-to-export ratio, that it is fully funded, and that it has wide participation.
	However, debt relief alone is not sufficient. All HIPC countries will need additional aid to meet the MDGS. That is why the UK's proposal for an International finance facility (IFF) is so important. it can provide the much-needed substantial increase in resourcesin the form of grants, concessional loans, or further debt reliefneeded to attain the MDGS.

World Debt

Betty Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy towards the cancellation of debt in the world's poorest countries.

Paul Boateng: The UK Government continues to be absolutely committed to the rapid and full implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and to ensuring that it delivers as much debt relief as possible, to as many eligible countries as possible, under the current framework.

World Debt

Dari Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his policy towards the cancellation of debt in the world's poorest countries.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South Swindon (Ms Drown) earlier today.

Millennium Development Goals

David Stewart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with other Ministers on financing the Millennium Development Goals.

John Healey: The Chancellor discussed the UK our proposal for an international finance facility with G7 colleagues at their recent meeting in Boca Raton.
	The proposal will be considered in detail during the 8 April Ministerial forum on financing for Development in Paris, which the Chancellor will co-chair with the French Finance Minister.

Employment (North-east)

Kevan Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress with his aim to achieve full employment in the north-east.

Paul Boateng: Employment has risen in every region since 1997, and in the north-east the employment rate now stands at 69.6 per cent.

Gershon Review

Hugo Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Sir Peter Gershon regarding the total savings in public sector employment within the Department for Transport as a result of his efficiency review.

Paul Boateng: The Department for Transport is working closely with Sir Peter Gershon and other key stakeholders to develop efficiency proposals for consideration in the 2004 Spending Review. Details of all departments' agreed efficiency programmes will be published alongside the Spending Review.

Gershon Review

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made in implementing the interim proposals of the Gershon Review since his announcement in the Budget.

Paul Boateng: I can now give more details of the specifics of reductions at Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise.
	Of the 14,000 job reductions by 200708 in the new tax department, 8,000 will be made by Inland Revenue, 3,000 by HM Customs and Excise and 3,000 will result from the merger.
	Ministers have met all the relevant trades unions. And yesterday the Chancellor met the TUC general council.
	As the Chancellor announced, following the Lyons review, of the 27,000 public sector jobs to be moved out of London and the south east, 7,000 will not be replaced.

National Insurance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the expected cost to the National Insurance Fund is in 200304 of reductions in contributions by employers to compensate them for the cost of environmental taxes.

Dawn Primarolo: In 200304 the climate change levy is expected to raise 0.8 billion. The deduction in contributions to the National Insurance Fund for 200304 to Compensate for the Climate Change levy is around 1.2 billion.
	In 200304 the aggregates levy is expected to raise 0.3 billion. The deduction in contributions to the National Insurance Fund for 200304 to Compensate for the aggregates levy is around 0.4 billion.
	It is not possible to calculate the effect of the reduction in employer NICs in respect of landfill tax due to the structural changes to secondary NICs in 1999.

Energy Efficiency

David Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what fiscal measures he plans to introduce to encourage energy efficiency; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Energy White Paper identified the efficient use of energy as the most cost-effective way to meet the Government's four energy goals f reducing carbon emissions; ensuring security of supply; maintaining Competitiveness; and tackling fuel poverty. The Government have already made significant progress in encouraging energy efficiency, and the Climate Change levy and the EU emissions trading scheme both have a key role in this.
	Budget 2004 also announced further use of economic instruments for domestic energy efficiency, including a landlord's energy saving allowance, and a 5 per cent. reduced rate of VAT for the domestic installation of ground source heat pumps.

Disabled People

Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations in relation to the Inland Revenue he has received from groups representing people with disabilities.

Dawn Primarolo: Treasury Ministers receive a range of representations in relation to the Inland Revenue, including from groups representing people with disabilities.

Landfill Levy

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to recycle the proceeds of the landfill levy.

John Healey: The Government have confirmed that the announced increases in landfill tax will be recycled to businesses and local authorities. We have been developing ideas on recycling the extra revenue to business through close working with stakeholders. We also commissioned independent research that was published in February: An assessment of options for recycling landfill tax revenue, available from the Treasury website. Budget 2004 has also announced that the Government are examining in detail a number of options and that consultations with stakeholders are continuing.
	The Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS) has also been reformed. The value of the LTCS has been revalorised so that for 200405 it is worth 48.3 million. The Government have improved the LTCS following consultation with stakeholders so that its scope has been expanded to cover projects that conserve or promote biodiversity in natural habitats, providing more choice and increased support for species and habitats in the vicinity of landfill sites; and the administration of the scheme has been streamlined to provide greater transparency and accountability. There is also a fast track application system for small grants.

Global Fund

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on his plans to increase the UK's contribution to the Global Fund.

John Healey: Funding for the Global Fund comes from the Budget of the Department for International Development, and is a matter for my hon. Friend , the Secretary of State for International Development. He has given 75 million so far, and has pledged a further 63 million to 2006 and a further US $80 million through to 2008.
	The Department for International Development works in close collaboration with the Global Fund to ensure its maximum effectiveness. Good outcomes will encourage DFID, and other, to look at the possibility of increasing support to the fund.

Heroin Smuggling

David Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Customs and Excise has taken to prepare for the expected increase in the flow of heroin from Afghanistan.

John Healey: The Government continues to monitor the drugs situation in Afghanistan. HM Customs and Excise will be providing further assistance to the Counter Narcotics Police (CNP) in Afghanistan and UK Customs officers deliver training to the Afghan Police Academy. Customs also work closely with countries neighbouring Afghanistan to improve the drug interdiction capability of these key countries.

Civil Servants (Relocation)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what analysis Sir Michael Lyons undertook on (a) the premises cost and (b) the employment cost of Government departments located in (i) the South East and (ii) Hampshire.

Paul Boateng: The analysis of property and employment costs in the South East is set out in Chapter 3 of Sir Michael Lyons' report, Well Placed to Deliver?Shaping the Pattern of Government Service, published on 15 March.

Civil Servants (Relocation)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the proposals in the Lyons Report for the relocation of civil servants away from London and the South East on the house building targets proposed by the Barker Report;
	(2)  what assessment Sir Michael Lyons made of the impact on local employment markets of the relocation of Civil Service jobs to South West England and South Wales.

Paul Boateng: This is a matter for departments' detailed business planning which they will be taking forward as part of the 2004 Spending Review.

Civil Servants (Relocation)

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic impact on the South Hampshire Priority Area for Economic Regeneration of the proposed relocation of Office for National Statistics staff from Titchfield.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Peter Walton to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 1 April 2004
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on what assessment has been made of the economic impact on the South Hampshire Priority Area for Economic Regeneration of the proposed relocation of Office of National Statistics staff from Titchfield. I am replying in his absence. (165318)
	The impact of the proposed relocation will be a factor taken into account in the 2004 Spending Review.

Civil Service

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of the Senior Civil Service serve in (a) Inland Revenue, (b) head office functions of Inland Revenue, (c) the Large Business Office (CT), (d) International Division and (e) Special Compliance Office; and what proportion of them in each case are subject to performance-related pay arrangements.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of members of the Senior Civil Service (SCS) currently serving in (a) Inland Revenue is 292, (b) Head Office functions of Inland Revenue is 170, (c) the Large Business Office is 66, (d) International Division is 19, and (e) Special Compliance Office is 4. All members of the SCS are subject to performance related pay arrangements.

Civil Service

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of redundancy costs arising from the reduction of 40,500 Civil Service jobs; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Boateng: The Government is in discussions with the trade unions about civil service staff reductions through natural wastage and redeployment as well as redundancy. I will report further to the house on necessary costs arising from redundancy.

Close Company Dividends

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to levy national insurance contributions on close company dividends; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 15 March 2004
	The Budget made no proposals along these lines.

Correspondence

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters of 20 November 2003 and 14 January 2004 from the hon. Member for Hull, North on the partial exemption method and the T element for universities.

John Healey: I have done so.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter to him of 20 February from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire.

John Healey: There is no record of the correspondence being received at the Treasury. A copy has been requested and will be dealt with as soon as possible.

Debt Relief

Patsy Calton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the extra funding for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries fund for top-up debt relief which the G8 committed at their meeting in Canada in 2002 has been provided.

John Healey: At the G8 summit in Kananaskis in 2002, donors pledged additional resources for the HIPC Trust Fund. The Trust Fund is administered by the World Bank and provides financial support to regional and sub-regional creditorsfor example, the African Development Bankenabling them to provide their share of debt relief commitments under the HIPC Initiative without endangering their lending capacity.
	The pledges from 2002 currently amount to US $928 million. Total paid-in contributions up to January 2004 from old and new pledges to the HIPC Trust Fund amount to around $2.8 billion, of which $306 million is based on the pledges made in Kananaskis in 2002.

Departmental Buildings (Asbestos)

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the buildings occupied by staff of (a) his Department and (b) agencies which require (i) remedial work on, and (ii) removal of, asbestos; what that work will cost; and what budgets are available for (A) this work and (B) further asbestos surveys in (1) 2004 and (2) 2005.

Ruth Kelly: The information regarding those of the Chancellor's Departments affected is set out below. Information on buildings identified as containing asbestos was placed in the Library of the House in response to a question from the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) in July 2003, Official Report, column 301W.
	The majority of those buildings housing staff from the Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise and the Valuation Office have been owned by Mapeley Ltd. under the STEPS contract since April 2001. Mapeley have responsibility under the contract to manage the STEPS estate in respect of the new Asbestos Regulations. The costs of any works and surveys associated with asbestos will therefore be met by them.
	Six buildings on the Royal Mint site are affected. An external study, costing up to 1,500, will be undertaken this year to review further the existing control systems, and to determine what work may be required to comply with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. No specific budget has been earmarked for this work as costs will be covered by the general budget provisions for building maintenance.
	In the Office for National Statistics all remedial or removal work identified in earlier asbestos surveys has been carried out. New surveys and management plans are being completed, at a cost of 81,000, and will identify any further work required.
	A recent survey in the Office of Government Commerce has revealed asbestos at the Edinburgh office. A further survey is being carried out to determine the best means of treatment, and the cost. These costs will be met from normal estates and maintenance budgets.

Departmental Communications

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many staff are employed in the Department to work in the communications field, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others;
	(2)  what the total expenditure on communications for the Department has been in 200304, broken down by expenditure on (a) Government Information and Communications Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers.(ii) special advisers and (iii) others.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury currently employs nine press officers to work on communications, of which seven are GIGS staff, and one Special Adviser, and thirteen other members of staff to work on Treasury publications, managing the Treasury's external website, and related administration.
	The total expenditure for these staff to date in 200304 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			   
		
		
			 GIGS staff costs 340,270 
			 Other press officer costs 127,175 
			 Other staff costs 368,585 
		
	
	Details of the costs of Special Advisers are given on an annual basis and information for the financial year 200304 will be published in due course.

Departmental Policies (Sustainable Development)

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of copying paper used by his Department in 200203 was from recycled sources; and how much post-consumer waste this paper contained.

Ruth Kelly: All copying paper used by HM Treasury during the period 200203 was 100 per cent. recycled and contained 100 per cent. post-consumer waste.

Departmental Policies (Sustainable Development)

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he has put in place to ensure that his Department meets the quick win targets set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that all copying paper bought by the Department is 100 per cent. recycled with a minimum of 75 per cent. post-consumer waste content.

Ruth Kelly: Currently all copying paper bought by HM Treasury is 100 per cent. recycled and contains 100 per cent. post-consumer waste.

Departmental Policies (Sustainable Development)

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list his Department's main suppliers of (a) copier paper, (b) stationery, (c) envelopes and (d) paper for reports; what the name of the paper used is in each case; and what the (i) recycled and (ii) post-consumer recycled content of each type of paper is in each case.

Ruth Kelly: All stationery, including copier paper, envelopes and paper for reports is bought from Banner. The paper is called Evolve Office 80 g/m2. This paper is 100 per cent. recycled and contains 100 per cent. post-consumer waste.

Horse Passports

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether other EU countries charge VAT on horse passports.

John Healey: All member states are required to reflect the provisions of EU Directive's within their own national legislation. Therefore, horse passports issued by a public body under a statutory regime would be outside the scope of VAT. Other bodies supplying goods or services for payment normally fall within the scope of VAT.

Illegal Meat Imports

John Whittingdale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much illegal meat has been seized by Customs and Excise in each of the last 10 years, broken down by species.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) on 3 December 2003, Official Report, column 5960W.
	The specific information requested is not available. Seizures identified according to type in DEFRA Annual Review are reproduced in the following table.
	
		
			  1 April 2001 to 31 March 2003 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 
		
		
			 Meat   
			 Number 1,242 2,986 
			 Weight (kg) 18,955 31,301 
			 Fish   
			 Number 353 1,837 
			 Weight (kg) 32,691 21,267 
			 Dairy   
			 Number 63 795 
			 Weight (kg) 3,784 19,807 
			 Multiple   
			 Number 361 2,172 
			 Weight (kg) 55,791 36,170 
			 Other   
			 Number 34 65 
			 Weight (kg) 3,569 666

Inheritance Tax

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of inheritance tax revenue was raised from estates of (a) less than 300,000, (b) 300,000 to 400,000, (c) 400,000 to 500,000, (d) 500,000 to 600,000, (e) 600,000 to 700,000, (f) 700,000 to 800,000, (g) 800,000 to 900,000, (h) 900,000 to 1 million and (i) over 1 million in the last year for which figures are available; and in each case what percentage the amount was of the total inheritance tax revenue raised.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 22 March 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to the statistics published in Table 12.3 on the Inland Revenue's website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/inheritance tax/03ir123F.pdf.

Iraq

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's most recent estimate is of the cost of the British occupation of Iraq in each month since the start of the conflict.

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the UK of operations in Iraq in March 2004.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 31 March 2004
	The Treasury does not estimate costs for Iraq in the manner requested.
	The Chancellor set aside 3 billion in Budget 2003 to cover the cost of operations in Iraq, 1 billion was drawn down in the Spring Supplementary Estimate for 200203. The remaining 2 billion of this special reserve has been carried forward to 200304.
	In the recent PBR the Chancellor announced a further 500 million set aside for the financial year 200304 and a further 300 million for 200405 as a prudent allowance to cover Iraq our continuing international commitment to the war on terrorism.

London

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest assessment is of the percentage of the UK Gross Domestic Product generated in London in each year since 199798.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 30 January 2004
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Simon Hughes, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your questions on the percentage of UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) generated in London since 1997. (151980)
	The estimates in the attached tables are based on the regional Gross Value Added 1 (GVA) estimates for 2001 and earlier years published in August 2003. These are available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=7359
	
		Table 1 Percentage of UK GVA 3  generated in London(Residence Based) 2 
		
			  UK GVA( million) London GVA ( million) London GVA as a percentage of UK 
		
		
			 1997 705,851 111,117 16 
			 1998 749,688 120,271 16 
			 1999 781,847 127,124 16 
			 2000 816,111 133,179 16 
			 2001 851,408 140,354 16 
		
	
	
		Table 2 Percentage of UK GVA 3  generated in London (Workplace Based) 2 
		
			  UK GVA ( million) London GVA ( million) London GVA as a percentage of UK 
		
		
			 1997 705,851 126,567 18 
			 1998 749,688 137,402 18 
			 1999 781,847 145,413 19 
			 2000 816,111 154,182 19 
			 2001 851,408 162,501 19 
		
	
	1 Under the European System of Accounts 95 (ESA95) the economic estimates that are defined as Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices are broadly equivalent to what has been historically known as GDP at factor cost. ONS has effected the change frtim GDP at factor cost to GVA at basic prices as part of implementation of ESA95, along with all other EU countries. GVA at basic prices includes the effects of taxes less subsidies on production, but excludes taxes and subsidies on products, which are included in GDP at market prices under ESA95.
	2 Estimates of GVA in Table A are on a residence basis, where the income of commuters is allocated to where they live, rather than their place of work. Estimates in Table B are on a workplace basis where the income of commuters is allocated to their place of work, rather than where they live.
	3 GVA at current basic prices, excluding Extra-Regio. Extra Regio is that part of the UK's economic territory which cannot be allocated to any specific region. The contribution to UK GVA of UK embassies abroad and UK forces stationed overseas is included in Extra-Regio, along with the element of GVA relating to activities taking place on the continental shelf.

Lyons Report

Adrian Flook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of Civil Service jobs currently located in the south-east that will be relocated to the south-west in line with the recommendations of the Lyons Report.

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the Lyons Report on aligning departmental pay with local market conditions;
	(2)  what mechanisms he has set up to co-ordinate (a) relocation and (b) redundancy of staff consequent on implementation of the Lyons Report;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the capacity for other Government (a) Departments and (b) agencies to retain staff who are unable to relocate as a consequence of the recommendations in the Lyons Report;
	(4)  if he will make a statement on the process for determining whether the relocation options proposed in the Lyons Report will be implemented;
	(5)  what (a) redundancy and (b) early retirement arrangements there are for Civil Service staff who do not relocate as part of a relocation plan;
	(6)  what estimate he has made of the cost of the shortlife unit proposed in the Lyons Report to monitor progress on relocation.

Paul Boateng: As set out in the 2004 Budget Report, the Government will come forward with detailed proposals for monitoring and implementing dispersal plans as part of the Spending Review.

Minimum Wage

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of young people who will directly benefit from the introduction of the minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-olds in (a) the constituency of Ogmore, (b) Bridgend county borough and (c) Wales.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Huw Irranca-Davies, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the number of young people who will directly benefit from the introduction of the minimum wage for 16 to 17-year-olds in (a) the constituency of Ogmore, (b) Bridgend county borough and (c) Wales. (164555)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) calculates estimates of the total number of jobs paid less than National Minimum Wage rates for the United Kingdom and Government Office Regions (including Wales). A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles and data can be found on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=5837Pos=lColRank=lRank=272.
	Estimates for Parliamentary Constituencies and counties are not available for any age group and for 16 to 17-year-olds, estimates are also not available at Government Office Region level.

Manufacturing (Wales)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs there were in the manufacturing sector in Wales in each year since 1997; and what manufacturing sector output was as a proportion of GDP in Wales in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Bill Wiggin, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about manufacturing jobs and output in Wales. (151759)
	The Annual Business Inquiry provides information on jobs in Wales by industry. Table 1 shows the number of employees in manufacturing businesses in Wales from December 1997 to December 2002.
	Table 2 shows the proportion of manufacturing Gross Value Added (GVA) to total GVA for Wales. The estimates are based on the regional GVA estimates published in August 2003. These are available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=7359
	Under the European System of Accounts 95 (ES A95) the economic estimates that are defined as Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices are broadly equivalent to what has been historically known as GDP at factor cost. The Office for National Statistic has effected the change from GDP at factor cost to GVA at basic prices as part of implementation of ESA95, along with all other EU countries. GVA at basic prices includes the effects of taxes less subsidies on production, but excludes taxes and subsidies on products, which are included in GDP at market prices under ESA95.
	
		Table 1: Manufacturing employee jobs in Wales, 19972002
		
			 Year Number of employee jobs (thousand) 
		
		
			 1997 215 
			 1998 208 
			 1999 207 
			 2000 201 
			 2001 189 
			 2002 185 
		
	
	Source:
	Annual Business Inquiry, Annual Employment Survey
	
		Table 2: Manufacturing Gross Value Added(57) as a proportion of total GVA of Wales
		
			 Year Manufacturing GVA of Wales( million) Total GVA of Wales ( million) Manufacturing as a proportion of total GVA of Wales (%) 
		
		
			 1997 8,007 28,942 28 
			 1998 7,941 29,718 27 
			 1999 7,775 30,652 25 
			 2000 7,826 31,864 25 
		
	
	(57) GVA at current basic prices, excluding Extra-Regio. Extra Regio is that part of the UK's economic territory which cannot be allocated to any specific region. The contribution to UK GVA of UK embassies abroad and UK forces stationed overseas is included in Extra-Regio, along with the element of GVA relating to activities taking place on the continental shelf.

Miners' Pensions

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he, or one of his ministers, will meet ex-miners from the Lichfield constituency in London to discuss the funding of the two miners' pension schemes and contributions made to the Exchequer.

Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 168182W.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has made of the recruitment and retention of staff at Titchfield if the office is (a) not relocated and (b) relocated on the completion of the ONS modernisation programme;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the number of people at the Office for National Statistics office in Titchfield who will be prepared to move to (a) Bristol and (b) Wales.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions concerning what assessment the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has made of the recruitment and retention of staff at Titchfield and of the number of staff who would be prepared to relocate.
	An initial assessment of these issues was discussed with the Lyons review team. A fuller assessment will be considered as part of the Spending Review.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will publish the submission made to Sir Michael Lyons by the Office for National Statistics;
	(2)  what representations the Office for National Statistics made to Sir Michael Lyons during the preparation of his report.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions concerning what representations the Office for National Statistics(ONS) made to Sir Michael Lyons during the preparation of his report and also if the ONS will publish the submission made to Sir Michael.
	ONS officials corresponded with and met members of Sir Michael Lyons' team on a number of occasions during the conduct of his review and preparation of his report.
	The submission was not a public document although ONS staff have been informed of its contents. Some information was provided to the Lyons Report on a confidential basis and will not be published.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment his Department made of the upfront relocation costs per person of staff employed at the Office for National Statistics in Titchfield;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the service delivery improvements that would accrue from the relocation of the Office for National Statistics office from Titchfield;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the cost of relocating the Office for National Statistics office from Titchfield to another location; and what cost savings are expected to arise from the relocation.;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the (a) financial and (b) operational benefits that would accrue to the Office for National Statistics from the proposed move of its office from Titchfield.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions concerning the financial and operational implications of the proposed move of the Office for National Statistics from its office in Titchfield. (164756, 164751, 164723, 164745)
	An initial assessment of these issues was discussed with the Lyons Review team. A fuller assessment will be considered as part of the Spending Review, including detailed proposals for the costs of relocating staff.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Office for National Statistics has to develop regional pay rates.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Peter Walton to Mr. Mark Hoban dated 1 April 2004
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on what plans the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has to develop regional pay rates. I am replying in his absence.
	ONS already distinguishes between London and National rates of pay. National pay scales apply to staff based at all sites other than London.
	Any further plans to develop regional pay rates would have to be taken forward in the context of HM Treasury guidance.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister concerning the use of the Office for National Statistics office at Titchfield;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the future use of the Office for National Statistics site at Titchfield in the event of relocation.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions concerning future use of the Office for National Statistics site at Titchfield and what discussions have taken place with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. (164733, 164752)
	A key element of the Lyons Review recommendations is the need for a coordinated approach across Government. Discussion of the future use of the ONS site at Titchfield will depend on the outcome of the 2004 Spending Review. However, there have been no such discussions at this stage.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the links between the Office for National Statistics office at Titchfield and Southampton University will be maintained if the office is relocated.

Ruth Kelly: The information falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking whether the links between the Office for National Statistics office at Titchfield and Southampton University will be maintained if the office is relocated. (164737)
	We have no plans to cease links with Southampton University.
	The relationship between ONS and Southampton University is an important intangible benefit of location at Titchfield, and it has strengthened work on the 2001 Census in particular. If the work currently undertaken at the Titchfield site were to be relocated, we would work hard to preserve these links.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when Office for National Statistics (a) management and (b) staff were informed of the proposals set out in the Lyons Report.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking when Office for National Statistics (ONS) (a) management and (b) staff were informed of the proposals set out in the Lyons Report. (164739)
	Copies of the Lyons Report were sent to the heads of all Government departments (including ONS) late on the afternoon of Friday 12 March 2004. ONS staff were then informed of the proposals on the afternoon of Monday 15 March 2004.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will announce a final decision on the relocation of the Office for National Statistics from Titchfield.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking when a final decision on the relocation of the Office for National Statistics from Titchfield will be announced. (164740)
	I expect a final decision to be announced following the conclusion of the 2004 Spending Review.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many 
	(1)  (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees are based at the Office for National Statistics in Titchfield;
	(2)  if he will list the (a) grade and (b) function of staff employed at the Office for National Statistics office in Titchfield;
	(3)  what supplements are payable to Office for National Statistics staff working in (a) London, (b) Southport, (c) Wales, (d) Bristol and (e) Hampshire;
	(4)  what the average salary is of the Office for National Statistics staff at (a) Titchfield and (b) Newport.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions on staffing and remuneration issues relating to the Titchfield site of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). (164743, 164744, 164746, 164750)
	The average salaries of staff working at the Newport and Titchfield sites of ONS at March 2004 are as follows:
	Newport 18,821
	Titchfield 21,052
	These earnings figures are for full time equivalent salaries for ONS civil servants and reflect the different mix of grades at each location.
	ONS do not make regional pay supplements. We only distinguish between London and National pay. National pay scales apply to staff based at all sites other than London.
	As of March 2004, there are 821 ONS civil servants based at the Titchfield site, of whom 672 are full-time and 149 are part time. There are additional crown employees working at Titchfield on a part-time basis as telephone interviewers. There are an average of 325 such staff employed, although the exact number varies between 300 and 350 on a monthly basis.
	The grades and functions of civil servants employed at the ONS Titchfield site are shown in the attached table.
	
		Number, grade and functions of ONS civil service staff based at the Titchfield site, March 2004
		
			 Grade No of staff (Headcount) Functions 
		
		
			 Al 31 Basic administrative duties, Reprographic operators, Data entry and stores. 
			 A2 224 Administration staff. 
			 A3 17 Library, Personal Assistants. 
			 Bl and B2 193 First line managers, IT programmers. 
			 AS 4 Assistant Statisticians. 
			 Cl and C2 189 Business Managers, Middle managers, Technical team leaders (IT), Research officers, Methodologists, Geographers. 
			 C3 50 Project managers, Business Analysts, Business managers,  
			 C4 37 Senior Researchers, Senior Methodologists, Senior Geographers, Senior Business Analysts, Project Managers.  
			 D2and D3 65 Branch Head Statisticians, Principal Research Officers, Principal Methodologists 
			 D4 7 Senior Managers 
			 SCS grade 1 4 Senior civil servants (SCS) 
			 Total 821

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the relocation of the Office for National Statistics office in Titchfield on the economy of South East Hampshire.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the impact of the relocation of the Office for National Statistics office in Titchfield, on the economy of South East Hampshire. (164754)
	The impact of the proposed relocation will be a factor taken into account in the 2004 Spending Review.

Office for National Statistics

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the operating costs of the Office for National Statistics premises in Titchfield are.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the operating costs of the Office for National Statistics premises in Titchfield are.(164757)
	The forecast expenditure on estates, property and facilities management required to keep the Titchfield site operational in 200304 is 2.76 million.

Pet Passports

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether VAT is chargeable in relation to pet passports (a) by his Department for providing the certificate and (b) by the veterinary surgeon who vaccinates the animal.

John Healey: holding answer 26 March 2004
	I have been asked to reply.
	DEFRA provides animal health certificates under the Pet Travel Scheme to Government-authorised veterinarians for completion and subsequent issue. Since DEFRA does not charge veterinarians for the supply of certificates, this is outside the scope of VAT.
	Veterinary surgeons issue certificates as part of their professional services. Their charges for these services are subject to VAT at the standard rate of 17.5 per cent.

Pre-owned Assets

Boris Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of households likely to be affected by the Inland Revenue's proposed tax on pre-owned assets;
	(2)  what research his Department has commissioned on the effect of the proposed tax on pre-owned assets on elderly individuals who have gifted their house to their relatives.

Dawn Primarolo: Following consultation, proposals to tackle tax avoidance using trusts were set out in the Budget 2004 (paragraphs 5.87 to 5.90).

Premium Bonds

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the odds were of winning a prize in the Premium Bond draw with a holding of 1,000 in (a) 2003, (b) 1997 and (c) 1993; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Premium Bond odds, with a holding balance of 1,000, were as follows;
	December 2003one in 30.50
	December 1997one in 19.50
	December 1993one in 15.51

Public Services

John Lyons: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on levels of investment in public services.

Paul Boateng: Tables C4 and C5 of Budget 2004 set out the Government's aggregate plans for public sector capital investment. Under these plans, Public Sector Net Investment will reach 2.2 per cent. of GDP by 200708 to rectify the historical under-investment in public infrastructure and deliver improved public services. More information on specific capital allocations through to 200506 is set out in the SR2002 White Paper (Cm 5570) and the Government will set out new capital plans for 2006/-07 and 200708 in the forthcoming Spending Review.

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the requirements are on officials in his Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for his departmental officials.

Ruth Kelly: The Civil Service Management Code sets out the requirement for civil servants declaring any conflict of interest.
	HM Treasury staff must declare to their team leader or senior management any business interests they would be able to further as a result of their official position.

Self-Assessment (Late Submission)

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many penalty notices were issued by the Inland Revenue for the late submission or non-submission by taxpayers of their 2003 self-assessment tax returns.

Dawn Primarolo: As stated in Budget 2004 (HC 301), and in line with previous years, 90.6 per cent. of self assessment returns were filled on time. Over one million returns were received electronically. Inland Revenue issued 952,766 Late Filing Penalty Notices on 17 February 2004 for returns not submitted by the due date.

Spirits Tax

Alan Reid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) lower and (b) upper limits are of his estimate of the annual amount of spirits duty fraud; and how he arrived at these estimates.

John Healey: Customs' estimate of spirits revenue evaded in 200102 is 600 million,as reported in Measuring and Tackling indirect Fraud Losses 2003 (December 2003). The National Audit Office report Estimating the Level of Spirits Fraud (March 2004) calculates a corresponding 95 per cent. confidence interval of between 330 million and 1,080 million. This calculation takes account both of sampling variation in the initial level of consumption and of the under-reporting variation. Both reports are available in the Library of the House.

Spirits Tax

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is his policy that the obligation to stamp spirit bottles announced in the Budget should extend to spirits produced in Northern Ireland.

John Healey: holding answer 31 March 2004
	The requirement for qualifying UK retail containers to bear a tax stamp will apply to all home-produced and imported products.

Spirits Tax

Alan Reid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in (a) sales of spirits in the UK and (b) the consequent amount of duty collected that would be caused by increases in the sale price of a 70cl bottle in steps of one penny, up to 40 pence.

John Healey: holding answer 30 March 2004
	The sale price of a bottle of spirits is a commercial decision for individual retailers. HM Customs and Excise estimates that a 10p increase in the sale price of a bottle of spirits would lead to a reduction in sales of UK-dutied spirits of around 0.8 per cent. The effects of smaller or larger increases would be broadly pro rata. The impact on spirits duty revenues would depend on the extent to which such an increase was related to spirits duty increases or other factors.

Spirits Tax

Alan Reid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the cost to the spirits industry of complying with his proposed tax stamps scheme; and which compliance costs he has so far not assessed;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the cost to the spirits industry of keeping tax stamps secure.

John Healey: holding answer 30 March 2004
	The Government announced in the Budget that, owing to continued high levels of spirits duty fraud, it will legislate to implement the Roques Report recommendation to introduce tax stamps for spirits. In doing so, the Government will help the trade financially with compliance costs by deferring payment for tax stamps, assisting firms with capital investment and freezing spirits duty for the remainder of this Parliament. The Government are also investigating the potential for offsetting security costs. Further announcements will be made once all the detailed offsetting options have been considered in discussion with the trade.
	A Regulatory Impact Assessment, to be published alongside the Finance Bill on 8 April, will identify in detail the impacts, costs and benefits of the tax stamp regime.

Spirits Tax

Alan Reid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has held with the First Minister of Scotland with regard to the introduction of tax stamps on bottles of spirits.

John Healey: I refer the hon. gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Perth, Annabelle Ewing the hon. Member for Perth earlier today.

T Element

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  which (a) universities and (b) other institutions are required to adhere to the Customs and Excise T element;
	(2)  what plans he has to extend the T element to (a) all universities and (b) other institutions; and if he will list the institutions which (i) have not yet adhered and (ii) have adhered but not made payment;
	(3)  if he will compensate those universities which have paid the T element and are financially disadvantaged in relation to universities which should have paid but have not.

John Healey: Organisations can only recover VAT they incur on purchases that relate to their taxable business activities. The provision of education for a fee is exempt from VAT, so universities and other educational institutions cannot recover the VAT which relates to their exempt supplies of education.
	Bodies which engage in both taxable and exempt activities must use a partial exemption method to work out the amount of VAT they can recover. The partial exemption method a university uses is designed to take account of its individual circumstances, but HM Customs and Excise cannot accept a partial exemption special method that does not produce a fair and reasonable recovery of VAT.
	Universities and other higher education institutions often use methods that calculate their recoverable VAT in proportion to the value of their supplies of education. In these cases, Customs will take account of the value of the Higher education Funding Council teaching grant (the T element) when agreeing the method.
	The Government cannot comment on the VAT affairs of individual taxpayers. Exemption 15(a) of the Open Government Code applies.

Tax

John McFall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is regarded by his Department as (a) legitimate and (b) illegitimate avoidance of tax.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government take steps to close down tax avoidance schemes as they become aware of them, particularly where they create economic distortions, provide commercial advantages over compliant taxpayers, redistribute tax revenues in an unfair and arbitrary manner, or represent an abuse that conflicts with or defeats the will of Parliament.

Tax

John McFall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action his Department has taken to establish best practice in international approaches to tackling tax avoidance.

Dawn Primarolo: The UK has a long, and well-established, history of working with other countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, on a range of tax issues. We are leading participants in a number of international tax fora and continue to share experience and best practice in international approaches to tackling tax avoidance.

Tax

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax that should have been paid is outstanding from each of the last five financial years.[R]

Dawn Primarolo: Reliable information is not available in the form requested. I refer the hon. Member to the NAO report, The Recovery of Debt by the Inland Revenue, published on 24 March 2004.

Tax

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2004, Official Report, column 122W, on tax credits, what proportion of the expected 300 million per annum overhead costs of administering the child and working tax credits will be paid to private contractors.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue paid 107 million (excluding VAT and payments in respect of capital purchases) to private contractors during the financial year 200203 for the delivery of the tax credits programme. The equivalent figure for the financial year 200304 is not yet available.

Tax

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax he estimates has been uncollected in the past five years.

Dawn Primarolo: In respect of the Inland Revenue, I refer the hon. Member to the NAO report The Recovery of Debt by the Inland Revenue, which reflects the position in March 2003. Comparable data for earlier years are not available.
	Customs' latest estimates of tax losses were published in Measuring and Tackling Indirect Tax Losses in December 2003, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Unemployment (Crosby)

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of unemployment in each (a) region and (b) nation of the United Kingdom was in each month since 1995; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Stephen O'Brien, dated 1 April 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on unemployment rates. (151829)
	The information requested is available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) on a monthly basis for rolling three-month periods starting with December 1996 to February 1997 and ending with September to November 2003. As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability.
	It is not practicable to print a table of this size in the Official Report. However, these data are published on the Office for National Statistics website as part of Table 18 of the Labour Market Statistics First Release Historical Supplement. This may be accessed via the House of Commons Library; the web page address is: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme labour/LMS FR HS/Table18sa.xls.